Paul Phillips was a prominent African American community service leader and was the first African-American to hold elected office in Grand Rapids. The collection includes biographical information, copies of speech notes and testimony, writings,...
Ralph Baldwin was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. During World War II, Ralph Baldwin was a senior physicist in the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, where he helped develop the radio proximity fuze, a crucial secret weapon of the war. The...
Robert DeMott, professor of English at Ohio University, compiled this collection in preparation for writing Conversations with Jim Harrison. The materials include research, interviews, and writing by Robert DeMott; published writings by and about...
William Kirkpatrick was the President of the Kalamazoo Paper Box Corporation and one of the original members of the Grand Valley State University Board of Control. The collection includes building plans, budget reports, annual reports, and self...
William Nicholson was the appointments secretary under President Gerald R. Ford from 1974 until 1977. The collection includes personal notes and calendars, White House briefings, travel information, political reports, election information, and...
The name U.S.S. Michigan has been shared by 3 vessels in the United States Navy, U.S.S. Michigan (1843-1949), renamed the U.S.S. Wolverine; the U.S.S. Michigan (Battleship BB-27); and the U.S.S. Michigan SSBN 727, a Trident-class missile submarine...
The Jim Harrison collection documents the life and work of Michigan-born writer Jim Harrison from 1938 to the present. Harrison has published books in several genres throughout his career, including poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and children’s...
Russel Kirkhof was an inventor, mechanic, businessman in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The collection includes diaries, patents, personal correspondence, legal correspondence, business ledgers, and records of his philanthropy.
Republican Congressman Harold (Hal) Sawyer represented Michigan's Fifth District in the U.S. Congress from 1977 to 1984. The California native worked in Grand Rapids law firm Warner, Norcross & Judd, and served on the Michigan Law Revision...
A. Robert Kleiner was a founding partner of the Kleiner, De Young, and Fayette law firm in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He served as a chairperson for the Michigan Democratic Party Committee on Apportionment. The A. Robert Kleiner collection documents...
The Arnold Ott collection documents the life and work of Michigan-born chemist and entrepreneur Arnold Ott from 1940-2008. He worked at Dow Chemical Company and the Upjohn Company where he authored 55 domestic and foreign patents before starting...
Sondra Mose-Ursery, community historian, founder of the Vandalia Underground Railroad Foundation, and former mayor of Vandalia, Michigan compiled this collection while researching the Underground Railroad in Cass County, Michigan. The collection...
Edward V. Gillis worked in the tool and manufacturing business in Grand Rapids Michigan. Gillis was a collector whose focus was Native Americans. This collection includes magazines, posters, maps, other published and some unpublished materials. The...
Frank J. Schulte is known as the Father of Civil Service in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Schulte worked in civil service throughout Michigan and on the proposed personnel system for the royal government in Afghanistan in the early 1960s. The collection...
Guy Vander Jagt served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan from 1966 until 1992. Vander Jagt served as Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee from 1975 until he left the House in 1992. The...
The Mathias J. Alten papers document the personal life and career of the West Michigan painter. The collection includes biographical information, business records, exhibit catalogs, and newspaper clippings collected by family members.
Doug van Doren is a pastor of Plymout United Church of Chrrist and he is involved with the community in a number of areas. In this interview he describes experiences of discretionary practices and prejudice toward people of color in the West...
