Inventory of the Robin Higham Papers, 1940-1949

Abstract

Robin D.S. Higham is an aviation and military historian who is professor emeritus at Kansas State University.

Collection consists of scrapbooks and binders of British airplanes and ships (primarily airplanes) as well as news clippings. The scrapbooks are almost exclusively from the World War II period.

Descriptive Summary

Repository: David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University
Creator: Higham, Robin D.S.
Title: Robin Higham Papers, 1940-1949
Language of Material: English
Extent: 1.8 Linear Feet, 10 Items
Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

The collection consists of 10 scrapbooks donated by Dr. Higham to the Duke Manuscripts Department in 1963. Contents include images and press clippings, largely featuring German, British, and U.S. planes from World War II. Also includes one scrapbook with images of ships. All images appear to have been cut out of magazines and newspapers.

Administrative Information

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Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

However, collection may contain materials to which the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibilities and Privacy Rights form applies. Patrons must sign this form before using this collection.

Also, all or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. Consequently, there may be a 24-hour delay in obtaining these materials.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

Use Restrictions

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

Contents of the Collection

Browse List of Series

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Scrapbooks, 1940-1949

(3 boxes)

Notebook, Press Clippings

Box 1

Notebook, Miscellaneous (images of World War II from magazines and newspapers)

Box 1

Notebook with images of German warplanes cut from newspapers and magazines

Box 1

Binder with images of ships cut from newspapers and magazines

Box 1

Binders with images of U.S. World War II planes cut from newspapers and magazines (3)

Box 2

Binders with images of R.A.F. planes cut from newspapers and magazines (3)

Box 3

Historical Note

Robin Higham, Ph.D., was born in 1925, the son of an American mother and a British father. He raised in London before being sent to the United States at the outbreak of the Battle of Britain in 1940. He joined the Royal Air Force in 1943, and flew over both Europe and Asia before being discharged in 1947. He attended the University of New Hampshire and then transferred to Harvard University, graduating with honors in 1950.

Higham was also married in 1950 to his wife, Barbara, and the couple lived in California for a few years before returning to Cambridge. He earned his Ph.D. in 1957, with a dissertation on the development of British aviation. The family then moved to North Carolina, where Higham taught in the History Department at the University of North Carolina from 1957-1963. He also helped found the Duke and University of North Carolina National Security Seminar.

Higham left UNC in 1963 and moved to Kansas State University, where he helped establish the school's doctoral program in military history. He also served as editor for Military Affairs (now the Journal of Military History) from 1968 through 1988, Aerospace Historian from 1970 through 1988, and the Journal of the West from 1977 through 2003(?). In addition, he founded Sunflower University Press in 1977. He is professor emeritus in the History Department at Kansas State University.