Guide to the Thomas J. Watson, Jr., papers, 1905-1994

Brown University Library , University Archives
Box A, John Hay Library
Providence, RI 02912
Tel: 401-863-2148
Fax: 401-863-2093
E-mail: archives@brown.edu

Published in 2008

Collection Overview

Title:	Thomas J. Watson, Jr., papers
Date range:	1905-1994
Creator:	Watson Jr., Thomas J., 1905-1993
Extent:	24 linear feet (24 record center boxes)
Abstract:	Thomas J. Watson, Jr., (Brown University, class of 1937) was the President and C.E.O. of International Business Machines (1952-1971). After his retirement from I.B.M., Watson began a career in government service, serving as chairman of the General Advisor Committee on Arms Control and Disarmament and as Ambassador to the Soviet Union (1978-1981). Watson's papers document the period of his ambassadorship to the Soviet Union and his subsequent work in foreign policy matters from 1981 to his death in 1993.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	Brown University Library , University Archives
Collection number:	MS-1U-W1

Scope & content

Consists of correspondence, speeches, diaries, daybooks, manuscripts, ships' logs, military records, reports, printed material, photographs, and clippings dating from 1905 to 1994 that document the life of Thomas J. Watson, Jr. About twenty-five percent of the collection documents the period in which he was the Ambassador to the Soviet Union and fifteen percent of the collection consists of speeches. There is a dearth of material about the International Business Machines Corporation (I.B.M.). The bulk of the I.B.M. series consists of letters written to Watson in 1971 after he announced his retirement from the company.

Series 6. Correspondence: Personal: Family includes letters from Jeannette Kittredge Watson to Thomas J. Watson, Jr., describing family life, especially travel.

Watson's activities are documented through the correspondence files, especially the chronological files (Series 7). While some of the organizations in which he served are documented in separate files, much of Watson's life outside I.B.M. is documented in the correspondence files. For example, there are no files specifically for Brown University, but Watson's interest in the university is documented in the correspondence series (Series 6 and Series 7), the Ambassador to Moscow (Series 13), Subject files series, and the Foreign Policy Papers (Series 23). These series also document Watson's personal life and his involvement with private organizations.

The Diaries (Series 2) consists of descriptions of Watson's civilian travels and experiences during World War II. In 1930 he traveled in Europe and in 1937 he traveled in Europe, Japan, Korea, and China, including Manchuria. In the military diaries, Watson described his personal activities and official duties, as well as the various countries he visited. There are references to his 1937 and war-time experiences in Russia throughout his correspondence and files, especially in the General Advisory Committee (Series 12) and Ambassador to Moscow (Series 13). There are additional travel diaries from the 1970s and 1980s in Trips and Travel (Series 15).

In addition to material in the Personal: Political (Series 8), correspondence that is political in nature is also in the Correspondence: Personal (Series 7); the Ambassador to Moscow (Series 13); and the Kennedy Family (Series 9). Correspondence with Charles H. Percy is scattered throughout the Ambassador to Moscow (Series 13) and the Personal: Political (Series 8).

Watson's roles on government committees including the General Advisory Committee on Arms Control and Disarmament; President's Task Force on the War Against Poverty, the President's Commission on Income Maintenance Programs, the President's Advisory Committee on Labor-Management Policy, and the National Citizen's Commission on International Cooperation are documented in the Government Associations and Boards (Series 11). Other associations and boards on which Watson served include the American Committee on U.S.-Soviet Relations, the Boy Scouts of America, the California Institute of Technology, Sarah Lawrence University, the Business Council, and the University of Chicago's Public Affairs Conference.

The Ambassador to Moscow (Series 13) documents the nomination, confirmation, term of service, and the resignation of Ambassador Watson. Within that series are Correspondence: A-Z; Correspondence: Personal, A-Z; and Correspondence: Personal, Chronological, and the Subject files which all overlap in the Ambassador to Moscow series. The Subject files are primarily personal; some of the material is filed under the name of the addressee and some is filed under the topic. Ambassador Watson received many requests for assistance including help in locating Raoul Wallenberg and getting the Pentecostal families, who were in American embassy sanctuary, out of the Soviet Union.

The Watson's personal and political relationships with the Kennedy family are documented in the collection. After the deaths of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, Tom Watson was active in the formation of the J.F.K. Library, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the R.F.K. Memorial Foundation.

Watson owned several yachts, including the Palawan, and sailed and raced his boats worldwide. Yachts and Racing (Series 16) consists primarily of ships' logs. Watson skied in Vail, Colorado; Vermont; and Zermatt, Switzerland. He often skied with Lowell Thomas.

The Thomas J. Watson, Sr., (Series 1) includes a few items from the Computing Tabulating and Recording Co. and from the National Cash Register Co. There are some manuscripts, including a reminiscence, that give some insight to the life of Watson, Sr., and other records that document some of Waston, Sr.'s, business transactions.

The Awards and Honors (Series 17) generally includes all correspondence related to the award or conferment and some speeches. After receiving an honorary degree from Oxford University in 1977, Watson wrote a description of the entire event. The Writings series includes published periodical articles written by Watson or about Watson. Books about Watson and his father are in the Biographical series (Series 19). In addition to pictures in the Photographs (Series 18), pictures of Watson's family and of events and trips are scattered throughout the collection, filed with the correspondence that they accompanied.

The Foreign Policy Papers (Series 23) includes correspondence, writings, clippings, and other documents related to Watson's work in foreign policy matters from after his ambassadorship to the Soviet Union ended in 1981 to his death in 1993. Included are pamphlets and other materials concerning the establishment of the Institute for International Studies at Brown University in 1986.

Access Points

Subject Names

• Watson, Thomas John, 1874-1956
• Percy, Charles H., 1919-
• Carter, Jimmy, 1924-
• Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973

Subject Names

• Watson, Thomas J., 1914-1993--Awards
• Thomas, Lowell, 1892-1981

Subject Organizations

• International Business Machines Corporation
• United States. President's Task Force on the War Against Poverty
• United States. President's Advisory Committee on Labor-Management Policy
• United States. Congress. Senate. General Advisory Committee on Arms Control and Disarmament
• Brown University--Benefactors
• Brown University--Alumni and alumnae
• Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company
• National Cash Register Company

Subject Topics

• Executives--United States
• Businessmen
• Businessmen--Political activity
• Ambassadors--Soviet Union
• Arms control
• World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives
• World War, 1939-1945--Officers
• World War, 1939-1945--Diaries
• Skis and skiing
• Yachting
• Logbooks
• Thomas J. Watson, Jr. Institute for International Studies (Brown University)

Geographical Names

• United States--Foreign relations--Soviet Union
• Russia--Description and travel
• Moscow (Russia)
• Japan--Description and travel
• Manchuria (China)--Description and travel
• China--Description and travel
• Zermatt (Switzerland)--Description and travel

Document Types

• Diaries
• Ships' logs
• Journeys

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into the following series:

• Series 1. Thomas Watson, Sr., papers, 1905-1967
• Series 2. Diaries, 1930-1945
• Series 3. Military Records, 1940-1955
• Series 4. Daybooks, 1955-1978,
• Series 5. International Business Machines, 1950-1993
• Series 6. Correspondence: Personal: Family, 1930-1967
• Series 7. Correspondence: Personal, 1941-1992
• Series 8. Personal: Political, 1954-1991
• Series 9. Kennedy Family, 1961-1979
• Series 10. Associations and Boards, 1961-1975
• Series 11. Government Associations and Boards, 1957-1969
• Series 12. General Advisory Committee on Arms Control and Disarmament (GAC), 1977-1980
• Series 13. Ambassador to Moscow, 1979-1981
• Series 14. Speeches by Thomas J. Watson, Jr., 1949-1989
• Series 15. Personal: Trips and Travel, 1946-1987
• Series 16. Yachts and Racing, 1935-1976
• Series 17. Awards and Honors, 1951-1981
• Series 18. Photographs, 1913-1989
• Series 19. Biographical, 1957-1994
• Series 20. Writings, 1941-1994
• Series 21. Death of Thomas J. Watson, Jr., 1993-1994
• Series 22. Miscellaneous, 1950-1971
• Series 23. Foreign Policy Papers, 1981-1993
• Series 24. Speeches and Articles, 1981-1987

Biographical note

Thomas J. Watson, Jr., was born in New York on Jan. 8, 1914. His parents were Thomas J. Watson, Sr., and Jeanette Kittredge Watson. Watson, Sr. was the founder of International Business Machines (IBM).

Thomas J. Watson, Jr., attended the Hun School in Princeton, N.J. He graduated from Brown University in 1937.

After traveling in Europe and the Far East in 1937, Watson to went work as a sales representative for IBM. He married Olive Field Cawley in 1941.

During World War II, Watson joined the U.S. Army Air Corps as a transport pilot. He served with General Follett Bradley and his duties took him to the Soviet Union and the Pacific theater.

In January 1946, Watson resumed working at IBM. He served as President of the company from 1952 to 1956 and as Chief Executive Officer from 1956 to 1970.

Watson sailed his yacht the Palawan worldwide. He cruised in the Bahamas and the Pacific. He also participated in races. An avid skier, Watson often traveled to Zermatt, Switzerland, and Vail, Co., where he owned a home. He shared his passion for skiing with his friend Lowell Thomas.

Watson served on executive boards and committees for numerous civic and private associations, including the Boy Scouts of America, the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, the Smithsonian Institute, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships, the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library, and the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Foundation. He served on the boards of various universities, including Brown University, Sarah Lawrence College, and the California Institute of Technology. Government committees on which Watson served included the President's Advisory Committee on Labor Management Policy (1961-1968); the President's Task Force on the War Against Poverty; and President Jimmy Carter's General Advisory Committee on Arms Control and Disarmament (1978-1979).

From October 1978 to January 1981, Watson served as United States Ambassador to the U.S.S.R.

Watson was the recipient of numerous awards and honorary degrees. He was awarded the Susan Culver Rosenberger Award from Brown University. He was the speaker at the Harvard University Commencement in 1981 and was granted an honorary Doctor of Laws at that time.

Watson died on Dec. 31, 1993, in Armonk, New York.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Use of the materials:	Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Preferred citation:	Thomas J. Watson, Jr., papers, MS-1U-W1, Brown University Library.
Contact information:	Brown University Library , University Archives Box A, John Hay Library Providence, RI 02912 Tel: 401-863-2148 Fax: 401-863-2093 E-mail: archives@brown.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	The majority of this collection was received prior to 1998. The materials housed in Box 24 were donated by Mark Garrison (Visiting Scholar at the Watson Institute and founding director of the Center for Foreign Policy Development) in March 2009.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by University Archives staff.
Encoding:	Finding aid encoded by Daniel Mejia and Evan Usler 2008 October 15
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Other information:

Brown University Library catalog record for this collection: Thomas J. Watson, Jr., papers

Inventory

---