Frank Ernest Gannett papers, [ca. 1859]-1958.
Collection Number: 1900

Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections
Cornell University Library


DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

Title:
Frank Ernest Gannett papers, [ca. 1859]-1958.
Repository:
Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections
Collection Number:
1900
Abstract:
Papers include correspondence, news releases, speeches, scrapbooks, articles, and pamphlets concerning FEG's youth, his student days at Cornell, editorial policies of the Gannett Newspapers and the establishment of the Frank E. Gannett Newspaper Foundation in 1935, temperance and liquor advertising, and newspaper and professional organizations in which FEG was active.
Creator:
Gannett, Frank E. (Frank Ernest), 1876-1957.
Quanitities:
32 cubic feet.
Language:
Collection material in English

COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

Papers include correspondence, news releases, speeches, scrapbooks, articles, and pamphlets concerning FEG's youth, his student days at Cornell, editorial policies of the Gannett Newspapers and the establishment of the Frank E. Gannett Newspaper Foundation in 1935, temperance and liquor advertising, and newspaper and professional organizations in which FEG was active.
Also the Cornell University Board of Trustees and School of Nutrition, the gold standard and the U.S. economy, the 1937 Supreme Court "Packing plan," the 1938 Executive Reorganization Bill and the Wages and Hours Bill, the St. Lawrence Seaway, air travel, Germany and Europe during the 1930s and 1940s, the 1943 National Food Conference of Consumers and Producers organized by Gannett, presidential campaigns of 1936 and 1940,
Republican National Committee chairmanship and Congressional elections (1942), the proposed National Coalition Party (1944-1945), the National Committee to Uphold Constitutional Government, World War II finance, the role of aircraft in wartime, Red Cross War Fund Drive, Navy Relief Society, Rochester's United Negro College Fund Drive, FEG's Department of Peace proposal, donation of the Gannett Medical Clinic to Cornell, and other topics.
Other items include family letters, autograph albums, genealogy, and memorabilia; Gannett's notebooks (1899) concerning his work for the First U.S. Commission to the Philippines; loose and mounted photographs; diaries, notebooks, and account books; a few financial and legal papers; audio disks of radio broadcasts; certificates; memorials; and newspaper clippings and other printed material.
Major correspondents include Raymond N. Ball, Jerome D. Barnum, Lord Beaverbrook, Neal Dow Becker, William E. Borah, Winston Churchill, John L. Collyer, George W. Crane, Edmund Ezra Day, Thomas E. Dewey, Anthony Eden, Mark Ellingson, James A. Farley, Edwin S. Friendly, Earl Harding, William Randolph Hearst, Herbert Hoover, Harold Ickes, Alfred M. Landon, Herbert Lehman, Norman Vincent Peale, Westbrook Pegler, Raymond S. Richmond, Nelson Rockefeller, Carlos P. Romulo, Franklin D. Roosevelt,
Edward A. Rumely, Jacob Gould Schurman, Harry G. Stutz, Robert A. Taft, Walter L. Todd, Frank E. Tripp, Arthur Vandenberg, David Rhys Williams, and Wendell Willkie.

INFORMATION FOR USERS

Cite As:

Frank Ernest Gannett papers, #1900. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.

Biographical / Historical

While a student at Cornell University, Frank Gannett worked as a reporter for the ITHACA JOURNAL, correspondent for newspapers in other cities, and editor of the CORNELL DAILY SUN. He accompanied the first United States Commission to the Philippines as secretary to its chairman, Jacob Gould Schurman, then President of Cornell. Returning to Ithaca, New York in 1900, he worked for the ITHACA DAILY NEWS and the CORNELL ALUMNI NEWS. He also worked for a time in New York City and Pittsburgh. From 1906-1937 he purchased newspapers in Elmira, Ithaca, Albany, Rochester, Saratoga, and other New York cities; Hartford, Connecticut; Plainfield, New Jersey; and Danville, Illinois. In 1935 he established the Frank E. Gannett Newspaper Foundation, which became the controlling owner of Gannett Co., Inc. when he died. Gannett was also a member and president of the Cornellian Council and in 1926 was elected a trustee of Cornell University, serving until 1949. Although he was an early supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Gannett later became a vociferous opponent of New Deal policies. He was William Borah.s running mate for the 1936 Republican nomination for president, and in 1940 Gannett ran for the nomination himself, losing to Wendell Willkie. He remained active in politics, serving as Assistant Chairman of the Republican National Committee in 1942.

Biographical / Historical

Frank Gannett also raised funds for various philanthropic organizations, including the Navy Relief Society, the United Negro College Fund, and the Red Cross. Gannett died in 1957 after a prolonged illness.

SUBJECTS

Names:
Ball, Raymond N.
Barnum, Jerome D.
Beaverbrook, Max Aitken, Baron, 1879-1964.
Becker, Neal Dow.
Borah, William Edgar, 1865-1940.
Churchill, Winston, 1874-1965.
Collyer, John Lyon, 1893-
Crane, George W.
Day, Edmund Ezra, 1883-1951.
Dewey, Thomas E. (Thomas Edmund,d1902-1971.)
Eden, Anthony, Earl of Avon, 1897-
Ellingson, Mark.
Farley, James A.
Friendly, Edwin S.
Gannett, Caroline Werner, 1894-1979.
Harding, Earl.
Hearst, William Randolph, 1863-1951.
Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964.
Ickes, Harold L. (Harold LeClair), 1874-1952.
Landon, Alfred M.
Lehman, Herbert H. (Herbert Henry), 1878-1963.
Malott, Deane W. (Deane Waldo), 1898-1996.
Peale, Norman Vincent, 1898-
Pegler, J. Westbrook (James Westbrook), 1894-1969.
Richmond, Raymond S.
Rockefeller, Nelson A. (Nelson Aldrich), 1908-1979.
Romulo, Carlos P. (Carlos Peña), 1899-1985.
Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945.
Rumely, Edward A.
Schurman, Jacob Gould, 1854-1942.
Stutz, Harry G.
Taft, Robert A. (Robert Alphonso), 1889-1953.
Todd, Walter L., 1886-1971.
Tripp, Frank E.
Wadsworth, James W.
Williams, David Rhys.
Willkie, Wendell L. (Wendell Lewis), 1892-1944.
Cornell University -- : Students.
Cornell University. Board of Trustees
Republican National Committee (U.S.)
National Coalition Party (U.S.)
National Committee to Uphold the Constitution (U.S.)
American National Red Cross
Navy Relief Society
United Negro Fund (Rochester, N.Y.)
Gannett Medical Clinic (Cornell University)
Frank E. Gannett Newspaper Foundation
Gannett Company
United States. Supreme Court
Places:
Germany -- History -- 1933-1945.
Philippines -- Politics and government.
Philippines -- Description and travel.
United States -- Politics and government.
Constitutions -- United States.
Subjects:
Journalists.
Journalistic ethics.
Journalism, Educational.
Community newspapers.
Newspapers -- Ownership.
Alcoholism -- Press coverage.
Advertising, Newspaper.
Newspaper publishing.
New Deal, 1933-1939.
Presidents -- United States -- Election -- 1940.
Presidents -- United States -- Election -- 1936.
Journalism -- Political aspects.
Freedom of the press.
Press and politics.
Depressions -- 1929 -- United States.
Charities.
Agriculture -- Economic aspects.
Agricultural administration.
World War, 1939-1945.
Form and Genre Terms:
Autographs (manuscripts).
Genealogies.
Photographs.
Diaries.

CONTAINER LIST
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