Walter Finch interview of Owen Lattimore

Collection — Box: 1

Identifier: MS-0643

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of two copies of audio cassettes of an oral interview of Owen Lattimore conducted by Walter G. Finch in Paris on August 14, 1973. The content of the recordings center on Lattimore's opinions on world affairs, particularly with the future of relations among Russia, China, and Mongolia. The interview runs approximately one hour and forty-five minutes.

Dates

Creation: 1973 August 14

Creator

Lattimore, Owen, 1900-1989 (Person)
Finch, Walter (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is housed off-site and requires 48-hours' notice for retrieval. Please contact Special Collections for more information.

Collection is open for use.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions. It is not necessary to seek our permission as the owner of the physical work to publish or otherwise use public domain materials that we have made available for use, unless Johns Hopkins University holds the copyright.

Biographical / Historical

Owen Lattimore was born in the United States in 1900, but was raised primarily in Tianjin, China. He left China for four years of schooling (1915-1919), but returned and began working for newspapers and import/export companies in China. He returned to the United States in 1928 after marrying Eleanor Holgate, and studied at Harvard University during the 1928-1929 school year.

Owen Lattimore became one of the foremost scholars and political thinkers in the United States on Asian affairs. He taught at Johns Hopkins University from 1938 to 1963. He worked on numerous commissions and the Institute of Pacific Relations, which allowed him to meet such influential Asian leaders as Mao Zedong. President Franklin Roosevelt made Lattimore the United States advisor to the Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek on the strength of his expertise in Asian foreign affairs and political science.

Senator Joseph McCarthy notably accused Lattimore of espionage and treason based on suspicions of Lattimore's international work. The charges were dropped after a highly-publicized trial.

Walter G. Finch was a graduate of Johns Hopkins University (1940). Trained a metallurgist, he later took a law degree, and in 1973 he served as the patent counsel for Hopkins. Finch was involved in the Democratic Party and traveled to the Ivory Coast, Siberia, Russian Manchuria, and Mongolia for his world peace efforts.

Extent

0.167 Cubic Feet (1 legal size folder)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Owen Lattimore was born in the United States in 1900, but was raised primarily in Tianjin, China. He became one of the foremost scholars and political thinkers in the United States on Asian affairs. He taught at Johns Hopkins University from 1938 to 1963. Senator Joseph McCarthy notably accused Lattimore of espionage and treason based on suspicions of Lattimore's international work. Walter G. Finch was a graduate of Hopkins (1940) and after earning his law degree in 1973, he served as the patent counsel for the school. Finch was involved in the Democratic Party and projects relating to world peace efforts. This collection consists of two audio cassette copies of an oral interview of Lattimore conducted by Finch in Paris on August 14, 1973.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The original tape was donated to the library by Walter G. Finch in December 1988. David Lattimore, son and heir of Owen Lattimore, gave permission for the use of the tape in research in September 1989.