Rare and Manuscript Collections Archival Guides
 

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Title Page
Summary Information
Biography
Collection Scope and Content Note
Subject Terms
Access and Use
Arrangement
Contents List
Series I. History Department files
Series II. First three years in China (living in Peking), first year at the North China Union Language School learning Chinese, next two years at Yenching University (on a Harvard-Yenching Institute fellowship) pursuing graduate studies in Chinese history; travel in other parts of China, briefly in Korea
Series III. 1931-1934, Graduate study at Harvard, completing Ph.D.
Series IV. 1934-1936, Post-doctoral study in Peking on Social Science Research Council fellowship. Published An Annotated Bibliography of Selected Chinese Reference Works with S. Y. Teng
Series V. 1936-1938, Instructor in Chinese history and language at the University of Washington
Series VI. 1938-1940, First two years at Cornell as Assistant professor of Chinese History
Series VII. 1940-1942, At Cornell, including 1942 Summer Workshop on Far East, British Commonwealth and Latin America and 1941 American Council of Learned Societies Chinese and Japanese Language Courses.
Series VIII. 1938-1940, Records as Secretary of Committee on Chinese Studies of the American Council of Learned Societies.
Series IX. 1940-1941, Records as Secretary of Committee on Chinese Studies of the American Council of Learned Societies
Series X. 1942-1944, War years at Cornell, including material on Committee on Asiatic Studies of ACLS. All material on the Chinese Army Specialized Training Program Biggerstaff directed is filed with other ASTP records in University Archives.
Series XI. 1944-1946, Six months in Division of Territorial Studies, U.S. Dept. of State and one year as Chinese Secretary of U.S. Embassy Chungking.
Series XII. 1946-1947, From June 1946, return to Cornell. Most correspondence as Chairman of Department of Chinese (later, Far Eastern and still later, Asian) Studies is in that department's files.
Series XIII. 1947-1949, Includes material regarding an American Historical Association Program Committee, the Committee on Asiatic Studies of the American Council on Education, the San Diego American Institute of Pacific Relations Conference and a research trip to Nanking, China. Correspondence relating to ACLS Committee on Far Eastern Studies mainly in ACLS files.
Series XIV. 1949-1951, Back at Cornell, includes material on Nanking trip with unedited copy of diary letters.
Series XV. 1951-1955, Miscellaneous correspondence, including David Rowe attack.
Series XVI. 1954, Security hearing to appeal denial of security clearance by Eastern Industrial Personnel Security Board for work with Operations Research Office, a research agency for Johns Hopkins University
Series XVII. 1954, Security hearing documents
Series XVIII. 1955-1957, Cornell department of history, related material for chairmanship (1956-1964) in that department's files.
Series XIX. 1957-1960, Miscellaneous correspondence.
Series XX. 1960-1963, Miscellaneous correspondence
Series XXI. 1963-1965, Includes 1963 sabbatical trip to Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Europe.
Series XXII. 1965-1968, Includes Wells College Long Range Planning Committee. Correspondence as President of the Association for Asian Studies sent to Association headquarters in Ann Arbor.
Series XXIII. 1968-1972, Miscellaneous correspondence up to time of retirement.
Series XXIV. 1972-1978, Post-retirement correspondence

Collection Scope and Content Note


Includes administrative correspondence of both departments and correspondence, memoranda, minutes, reports, notes, and other items concerning his participation in the American Council of Learned Societies and its Committee on Far Eastern Studies, American Historical Association, Association for Asian Studies, and Institute of Pacific Relations, of which he was a trustee of the American branch; some of the IPR records relate to the McCarran Subcommittee investigation of that organization. Professor Biggerstaff's handwritten notes (1927-1933) from Harvard University classes and lecture notes for his own Cornell classes and for the Army Special Training Program at Cornell (1944), all relating to the Far East. Also, letters to Biggerstaff and drafts of some of Biggerstaff's outgoing correspondence with fellow China scholars, students and personal friends; letters of recommendation for former students and colleagues; documentation of Biggerstaff's travel and study abroad (China and Europe); reviews of colleagues' books for historical publications; and material describing his security hearings in 1954 including Biggerstaff's statement in defense of his own loyalty as well as statements for many colleagues (c.1954). Frequent correspondents include China scholars such as: George H. Blakeslee, O. Edmund Clubb, John K. Fairbank, George McTuran Kahin, and Ssu-yü Teng.

Also, letters, 1961-1991, from Dr. Biggerstaff to Dr. Arun K. Dasgupta, a graduate student of his who returned to Calcutta, India and also taught in Jakarta, Indonesia. Includes personal, family, and professional news; also, Biggerstaff's letters from China (1945-49) and Camilla Biggerstaff's letters from China (1923-31).

These papers include correspondence to the Biggerstaff and drafts of some of Biggerstaff's outgoing correspondence with fellow China scholars, students, and personal friends; letters of recommendation for former students and colleagues; documentation of Biggerstaff's travel and study abroad (china and Europe); reviews of colleagues' books for historical publications; and material describing his security hearings in 1954 including Biggerstaff's statement in defense of correspondents include China scholars such as: George H. Blakeslee, O. Edmund Clubb, John K. Fairbank, George McT. Kahin, and Ssu-yu Teng.

Material is arranged alphabetically within 2 or 3 year periods, as Professor Biggerstaff left the papers. These periods often correspond roughly to inclusive dates. Series indicate original groupings of material by box. Althouhg the material remains in the same overall order as Professor Biggerstaff arranged it, some groups of material were consolidated or divided into different folders to facilitate storage. The alphabetical order is not always apparent but has been maintained wherever possible.

Show all series level scope and content notes