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Wilson (Orlando W.) Papers
Processed by The Bancroft Library staffThe Bancroft Library.
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu
© 1997
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Additional Form Available:
This finding aid has been filmed for the National Inventory of Documentary Sources in the United States (Chadwyck-Healey Inc.).
History --History, University of California --History, UC Berkeley Geographical (By Place) --University of California --University of California Berkeley
Collection Summary
Collection Title:
Orlando Winfield Wilson Papers, [ca. 1928-1972]
Collection Number:
BANC MSS 73/179 c
Creator:
Wilson, O. W. (Orlando Winfield), 1900-1972
Extent:
Number of containers: 2 cartons, 3 boxes, 2 volumes and 1 oversize folder
Repository:
The Bancroft Library
Berkeley, California 94720-6000
Physical Location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Abstract:
Letters written to him and by him; biographical material; manuscripts of his writings; copies of his speeches and statements; reprints and tear sheets of his articles and book reviews; personalia; awards and diplomas; memorial tributes; clippings; subject files. Relating to his career in police administration at Wichita, Kansas and Chicago, the development of the criminology program at the University of California, Berkeley, his consultant assignments and his writings in the field of police administration.
Languages Represented:
English
Information for Researchers
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Orlando Winfield Wilson papers, BANC MSS 73/179 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Material Cataloged Separately
- Photographs have been transferred to the Pictorial Collections of The Bancroft Library - BANC PIC 1973.030-.031--PIC
- Tapes have been transferred to the Phonotape Collection of The Bancroft Library (for location, see Container List)
Brief Biographical Sketch
Orlando Winfield Wilson, criminologist, police administrator and educator, was born on May 15, 1900 in Veblen, South Dakota. He started police work in 1921 as a patrolman with the Berkeley, California Police Department, working his way at the University of California as one of August Vollmer's "college cops." Graduating with an A.B. in 1924, he resigned from the Berkeley force in April 1925 to become chief of police in Fullerton, California. In 1928, on Vollmer's recommendation, he became police chief of Wichita, Kansas, a position he held until 1939 when he returned to Berkeley as professor of police administration at the School of Criminology, serving as dean, 1950-60. During this period he also did intermittent police consultation and advisory work, conducting a number of police surveys and directing reorganization of departments in several cities. In World War II, he served in the army in a variety of posts. In 1960 he went to Chicago at the request of Mayor Richard J. Daley, to head a blue-ribbon committee seeking a new police commissioner. The committee, after searching the country for a candidate, chose its own chairman, and Wilson accepted the job with the assurance that he would have the support he considered necessary to rebuild the department which had been rocked with graft and incompetence. Retiring in 1967 with a distinct record of achievement, he returned to California, living in Poway until his death on October 18, 1972.
Scope and Content
His papers were given to The Bancroft Library by his widow, Ruth Elinor Wilson, in May 1973. Covering the period 1928 to 1972, they include correspondence, biographical material, MSS of his writings, copies of speeches and statements, reprints and tear sheets of his articles and book reviews, personalia, awards and diplomas, memorial tributes, photographs and snapshots, clippings and subject files. The papers, in general, relate to his career in police administration at Wichita, Kansas, and Chicago; the development of the criminology program at the University of California, Berkeley; his consultant assignments; and his writings in the field of police administration. They are described in greater detail in the Key to Arrangement which follows. A list of the major correspondents represented in the collection follows the Key.
Some material relating to his work in Wichita was given by Mrs. Wilson to the Kansas State Historical Society, and his library went to the Chicago Police Training Academy and to the San Diego Police Department.
Key to Arrangement
[ Box 1 ]
Letters written by Wilson, 1928-1972 and n.d.
Carbon copies of outgoing letters addressed primarily to colleagues; a few to his daughter; and originals of a few letters written to his wife, Ruth. Obviously an incomplete file. Most of the letters for the period 1928-1939 are addressed to August Vollmer. Letters in general relate to his work as police chief, Wichita, Kansas; his consultant assignments; the development of the criminology program at the University of California, Berkeley; and family affairs. A few letters refer to his position as police superintendent, Chicago. Arranged chronologically.
[ Boxes 1-3 ]
Letters written to Wilson
Letters from colleagues in the field of police work, members of the faculty and administration at the University of California, Berkeley, professional organizations and journals, his publishers and members of his family. Wilson obviously saved only a small part of what must have been an extensive correspondence file. Letters have, for the most part, been arranged alphabetically by name of person or organization. A list of the major correspondents represented in the collection follows the Key to Arrangement. Unlisted letters, which are arranged alphabetically in a "Miscellany" and letters from unidentified correspondents are in Box 3. Some letters have been grouped by subject as follows: miscellaneous letters re Wilson's appointment and tenure as police superintendent, Chicago; miscellaneous letters from foreign police officers and organizations; and letters of condolence addressed to Mrs. Wilson.
[ Ctn. 1 ]
Biographical material
MSS of his writings - primarily typed copies of papers and articles, including one about August Vollmer and others on developments in police administration . (1 folder)
Speeches and statements - MSS, photocopies, mimeographed and/or printed copies; arranged chronologically, 1950-1967, with undated copies at the end. Many of them are addresses delivered during the period he was superintendent of the Chicago Police. (2 folders)
Personalia - passports, identification records, medical record, membership cards and badges, UC personnel papers, etc.
[ Ctn. 2 ]
Subject files
California. University, Berkeley. School of Criminology.
Reports, memoranda, etc., re proposed courses, suggested projects, changes in the academic status of the School and its relationship to the School of Social Welfare; announcements of graduate and undergraduate curricula; copy of the Cline Report and copies of the School's reply to the Report. (4 folders)
Chicago. Police Dept.
Memoranda from the mayor's office and departmental memoranda; organizational charts; agenda for staff meetings; reports and publications, etc. (7 folders)
See also v. 1 and 2 below and microfilm and tapes.
August Vollmer - copy of a translation of an original article about Vollmer which appeared in a French magazine; clippings; information about August Vollmer Memorial Scholarship Fund, etc.
Wichita, Kansas. Police Dept. Statistics re scholastic attainments of police force; copies of general orders issued by Chief Wilson; radio interview with Wilson; samples of forms used; copy of resolution granting Wilson leave of absence, etc.
[ volume v. 1 ]
"The Wilson Years 1960 to 1967 ... Highlights in the Career of ..."
Prepared on behalf of the Chicago Police Department personnel by the Public Information Division on the occasion of Wilson's retirement. Photocopies of clippings and articles and a colored photograph of Wilson.
[ reel Microfilm ]
Minutes of meetings of Chicago Police Dept.
2 sets, as follows: set 1 -cine filming of meetings, Apr. 8, 1960-Dec. 24, 1964 (1 neg. and 1 pos.); set 2 -comic filming of meetings, Mar. 15, 1960-Dec. 24, 1964 (1 neg. and 1 pos.) The film is housed in the Microfilm Division.
[ tape Tapes ]
Tapes have been removed from the collection and assigned the following call numbers in the phonotape collection:
P/T 408 . A Salute to O. W. Wilson. Radio program, WGN, Chicago, July 29, 1967, on occasion of Wilson's retirement from the police force.
Partial List of Correspondents
Adler, Mortimer Jerome, 1902-
The American Journal of Police Science
Americans for Effective Law Enforcement Inc.
Berkeley, Calif. Police Dept.
California. University. President
California. University. Regents
California. University, Berkeley
25 letters, 1939-1960. From A. M. Kidd, Paul L. Kirk, David P. Barrows, Joel H. Hildebrand, Clark Kerr, Joseph P. Harris, Glenn T. Seaborg and others. Re development of criminology program at UC, Wilson's courses in police administration, proposed changes in criminology program, etc.
See also subject files, carton 2.
Chicago. [various offices]
11 letters, 1960-1973. From president of the Chicago Civil Service Commission, corporation counsel, president of the Chicago Crime Commission, Mayor Richard J. Daley, etc.
See also Franklin M. Kreml; Virgil W. Peterson; International Association of Chiefs of Police, Inc.; miscellaneous letters re Chicago police (box 3); subject files (carton 2); v. 1 and 2; and microfilm and tapes.
Dixon, Sir Arthur L.
Harvard University. Bureau for Street Traffic Research
Holstrom, John D.
International Association of Chiefs of Police, Inc.
McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.
McLaren, Roy C.
Peterson, Virgil W.
U.S. Agency for International Development
Vollmer, August, 1876-1955
69 letters, 1928-1942. Written primarily while chief of police, Berkeley, Calif., and professor of police administration, University of California, Berkeley. Letters discuss mutual problems in running police departments, developments in professional training of policemen, courses offered in professional schools, mutual friends in the field, etc.
See also Bancroft Library correspondence; Wilson's article on Vollmer, carton 1; and subject files, carton 2.
Wichita, Kansas. City Manager
Wilson, Ruth [Mrs. O. W. Wilson]
Wiltberger, William Alden
To learn more about these issues, please see the 