William B. Pickett collection
Collection
Identifier: L449
Scope and Contents
This collection includes chapters related to the dissertation, "Homer E. Capehart: The making of a Hoosier Senator" and book manuscript,Homer E. Capehart: A Senator's Life, 1897-1979, written by William Beatty Pickett, ranging from 1914 to 1981. The collection also includes correspondence, book notes, articles, photographs, oral history interview transcripts, speeches, clippings, pamphlets, political documents, and index cards with notes on sections, chapters, and research for the dissertation and book. There are also biographical and genealogical records in regard to William B. Pickett of Bloomington, Indiana.
There is also an oversize folder containing an issue of the Hoosier Republican dated May 23, 1941 and an issue of the Washington Herald, dated July 3, 1950 (OBC150).
There is also an oversize folder containing an issue of the Hoosier Republican dated May 23, 1941 and an issue of the Washington Herald, dated July 3, 1950 (OBC150).
Dates
- 1914-1981, undated
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.
Biographical Note
William Beatty Pickett was born on March 12, 1940, to Walter Nathan and Amy (Beatty) Pickett in Crawfordsville, Indiana. He has one sister, Mary Anne. Pickett graduated with a bachelor's degree from Carleton College in Minnesota in 1962. He served as a lieutenant in the United States Naval Reserve from 1962 to 1966. Pickett married Janet Elizabeth Hollingsworth on August 29, 1963 and they have two children: Robert Matthew and Jeffrey Michael. Pickett then received an M.A. from Indiana University in 1968 and a Ph.D. from Indiana University in 1974. His dissertation was titled, "Homer E. Capehart: The Making of a Hoosier Senator" and submitted September 1974.
Picket taught history at several universities, including Indiana University in Bloomington; Rose Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute; Nanzan University and Nagoya University in Japan; University of Maryland, Seoul, Korea; and American University in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. He conducted numerous oral history interviews and wrote numerous biographies on 20th-century American politicians, including Homer E. Capehart, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and George F. Kennan. He also wrote a book about Rose-Hulman Institute, for which he also conducted oral interviews. His commentary on the 50th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan was aired by the Voice of America and he delivered lectures and speeches at celebrations of centennials and author events. Pickett served as president of the Indiana Association of Historians and chairman of the Indiana Council for History Education.
Sources:
Items in the collection.
Rose Hulman Institute of Technology. "Dr. William B. Pickett." Accessed June 4, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20140406070840/http://www.rose-hulman.edu:80/~pickett.
World Biographical Encyclopedia, Inc. "William Beatty Pickett." Prabook. Accessed March 1, 2017. http://prabook.com/web/person-view.html?profileId=701733.
Picket taught history at several universities, including Indiana University in Bloomington; Rose Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute; Nanzan University and Nagoya University in Japan; University of Maryland, Seoul, Korea; and American University in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. He conducted numerous oral history interviews and wrote numerous biographies on 20th-century American politicians, including Homer E. Capehart, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and George F. Kennan. He also wrote a book about Rose-Hulman Institute, for which he also conducted oral interviews. His commentary on the 50th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan was aired by the Voice of America and he delivered lectures and speeches at celebrations of centennials and author events. Pickett served as president of the Indiana Association of Historians and chairman of the Indiana Council for History Education.
Sources:
Items in the collection.
Rose Hulman Institute of Technology. "Dr. William B. Pickett." Accessed June 4, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20140406070840/http://www.rose-hulman.edu:80/~pickett.
World Biographical Encyclopedia, Inc. "William Beatty Pickett." Prabook. Accessed March 1, 2017. http://prabook.com/web/person-view.html?profileId=701733.
Extent
6.66 Cubic Feet (20 manuscript boxes, 1 large oversize folder)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
Arranged in the following series:
Series 1: Oral history interviews, 1969-1973, undated
Series 2: Papers, 1914-1981, undated
Series 3: Photographs and audiovisual materials, 1919-1964, undated
Series 1: Oral history interviews, 1969-1973, undated
Series 2: Papers, 1914-1981, undated
Series 3: Photographs and audiovisual materials, 1919-1964, undated
Custodial History
This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation from William Beatty Pickett on 1992/06.
Accruals
No further additions are expected.
Processing Information
Collection processing completed 2017/04/10 by Edythe Huffman. EAD finding aid created 2017/04/10 by Edythe Huffman. EAD finding aid revised 2019/06/04; 2025/06/23 by Brittany Kropf; 2021/11/02 by Lauren Patton.
- Audiocassettes
- Authors -- Indiana
- Authors, American
- Authors, American -- Indiana -- 20th century
- Capehart, Homer E. (Homer Earl) 1897-1979
- Clippings
- Dissertations, Academic
- Historians
- Hoover, J. Edgar (John Edgar), 1895-1972
- Indiana -- Politics and government
- Indiana -- Politics and government -- 20th century
- Manuscripts
- Negatives
- Oral history
- Oral history -- Indiana
- Oral history interviews
- Photographs
- Politicians -- Indiana
- Politicians -- United States -- 20th century
- Politics and government
- Pulliam, Eugene C. (Eugene Collins), 1889-1975
- Pulliam, Nina Mason
- Reel-to-reel audiotapes
- Speeches, addresses, etc.
- Transcriptions
- Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972
- United States -- Politics and government
- United States -- Politics and government - 20th century
- United States. Congress. Senate.
Creator
- Title
- William B. Pickett papers
- Status
- Under Revision
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository
Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
