Local figure

R. D. W. Connor

Connor took his degree at Chapel Hill in 1899, returned in 1921 as Kenan Professor of History and Government, left in 1934 to become the first Archivist of the United States, and taught at the university again from 1941 until he retired in 1949.

Source: Documenting the American South: Robert Digges Wimberly Connor, 26 Sept. 1878-25 Feb. 1950

Also found in catalogs as R. D. W. (Robert Digges Wimberly) Connor.

1878–1950 · Dates from the Library of Congress · On the Friends’ Local Authors roster → · Library of Congress authority record ↗

5 works about R. D. W. Connor are indexed here.

Search these 5 works Research sources View indexed works ↓

Life and Orange County connections

Storylines this person is part of, in date order. Each has its own page.

StorylineChapel Hill's town elections under Mayor Roberson, 1915–19271915–1927 · 8 events · From 1915 to 1925 Chapel Hill's town elections returned W. S. Roberson as mayor, usually with a citizens' ticket. He defeated W. H. Boger in 1915 and was elected again in 1917 and 1919. In 1923 he beat Carl Wiegand, a young lawyer, 314 to 76, in what the Weekly called the heaviest vote ever cast in the town. Under a 1925 charter amendment the town elected six aldermen instead of five, and only 76 voters came to re-elect Roberson. He refused to run again in 1927, and in a light vote Zeb P. Council of the University printery was elected mayor. The Weekly said none of the men elected had sought the office. StorylineRebuilding Franklin Street’s business block, 1922–19271922–1927 · 14 events · In 1927 Chapel Hill's aldermen refused a petition from five owners to remove the trees on Franklin Street's business block, voted to keep them and plant new ones, and reaffirmed the policy after about fifty citizens crowded a hearing. Under E. M. Knox, the town's business manager from 1922, Chapel Hill laid sidewalks, extended its sewers and planted street trees. In 1927 the aldermen authorized street bonds without a vote, paved the planting strip down the middle of Franklin Street and moved the north curb toward the buildings. A flashing traffic beacon that Louis Graves called an eyesore stood at the Raleigh road by that August, and by late November lamps borrowed from the University lit the north side. StorylineKenan Memorial Stadium, 1926–19881926–1988 · 12 events · William R. Kenan Jr.'s 1926 gift of $275,000 built Kenan Memorial Stadium in the ravine southwest of the Tin Can, but blasting on the site drew protests. Residents of the south side of the village said the blasts were breaking windows and throwing stones as far as 1,600 feet, and in April 1927 the aldermen authorized the town manager to get expert advice and act to protect the community. Concrete seats went in at 500 a day toward 24,000, and Kenan added $28,000, bringing his gift to $303,000. After a first game against Davidson on November 12, the governor accepted the stadium for the state at the Thanksgiving Day game with Virginia, when the Weekly put the crowd at 28,000. Later work added women's restrooms and student seats in 1979, new lower-section seats in 1986 and, in 1988, a south-side renovation with about 2,100 seats, a press box and lights. StorylineHamilton and the Southern Historical Collection, 1927–19481927–1948 · 5 events · From 1927 J. G. de Roulhac Hamilton built what became the Southern Historical Collection, a leading repository of manuscripts on the American South. He announced plans that year for what he first called the National Southern Collection, and in 1929 he gave up the headship of the history department to be free of administrative work; the Weekly reported that he had spent weeks travelling the South gathering old books, letters and diaries. After Sarah Graham Kenan gave $25,000 in 1930, the collection became the Southern Historical Collection, with Hamilton as its first director. From 1932 Elizabeth Henderson Cotten worked as his assistant and became its first curator. Hamilton retired by July 1948, after 42 years with the University. StorylineStreet trees of Chapel Hill, 1927–19351927–1935 · 3 events · Chapel Hill's aldermen decided in 1927 that the business block would keep its trees, though some merchants wanted it bare. On November 7 they refused a petition from five property owners to remove the trees and, with W. C. Coker's advice, voted to keep the existing ones, replace those already cut and plant new ones in the new sidewalk. At a crowded hearing on November 14 Moody Durham spoke for the merchants, but the board reaffirmed the policy. In late 1935 crews set out 200 willow oaks along the village streets, in what the Weekly called the largest tree-planting in the town's history, with saplings from the University and labor from the WPA. StorylineThe University’s hard year and the choice of Frank Graham, 19301930 · 6 events · In 1930 the University lost its president and two faculty members and had its budget cut 20 percent before the trustees chose Frank Porter Graham to lead it. Harry Woodburn Chase left for the University of Illinois, and Dean Addison Hibbard left for Northwestern, a loss the Weekly put down to larger salaries and pensions elsewhere, and Howard Mumford Jones left for Michigan. The trustees named a committee to gather facts and lay names before the board, not to nominate one man. On June 9 they voted without nominations. R. D. W. Connor led the first ballot, but Graham took a majority on the fourth. Brought in from a walk, Graham asked that Connor be chosen instead, then accepted.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 23 dated events in the chronology →

1899 R. D. W. Connor graduates from the university and edits its student publications Connor took his Ph.B. at Chapel Hill in 1899, the year he served as editor-in-chief of all three student publications. Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Robert Digges Wimberly Connor, 26 Sept. 1878-25 Feb. 1950
1915 The 1915 General Assembly raises the university's appropriation Graham's first legislative campaign won $115,000 a year for operations, against $95,000 before and the $125,000 he sought, plus $60,000 over two years for permanent improvements. Much of the building money went to pay for the University Inn property on Franklin Street and the land under Peabody Hall. People: Edward Kidder Graham, R. D. W. Connor Place: General Assembly, Raleigh; UNC, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: University Inn, Peabody Hall, Franklin StreetSearch the index · Howard E. Covington Jr., Fire and Stone: The Making of the University of North Carolina under Presidents Edward Kidder Graham and Harry Woodburn Chase (2018), p. 105
December 8, 1918 A memorial service for President Graham fills Gerrard Hall Every seat in Gerrard Hall was taken for the formal memorial service for Edward Kidder Graham, held after the epidemic had eased. Horace Williams and R. D. W. Connor spoke, and J. G. de Roulhac Hamilton read a tribute from C. Alphonso Smith. People: R. D. W. Connor, J. G. de Roulhac Hamilton, Henry Horace Williams, Charles Alphonso Smith, Edward Kidder Graham Place: Gerrard Hall, UNC, Chapel HillSearch the index · Howard E. Covington Jr., Fire and Stone: The Making of the University of North Carolina under Presidents Edward Kidder Graham and Harry Woodburn Chase (2018), p. 177
1919 Chase keeps E. C. Branson at Chapel Hill with a Kenan professorship When the University of Virginia tried to hire the rural sociologist to rebuild his program in Charlottesville, Chase made Branson a Kenan professor with $1,000 more in pay, and he stayed. People: Harry Woodburn Chase, R. D. W. Connor, Eugene Cunningham Branson Place: UNC, Chapel HillSearch the index · Howard E. Covington Jr., Fire and Stone: The Making of the University of North Carolina under Presidents Edward Kidder Graham and Harry Woodburn Chase (2018), p. 194
1921 Connor returns to Chapel Hill as Kenan professor of history and government Connor left his state archival work for the university in 1921 and taught at Chapel Hill until 1934, when he was named the first Archivist of the United States. Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Robert Digges Wimberly Connor, 26 Sept. 1878-25 Feb. 1950
August 14, 1924 R. D. W. Connor is elected a Chapel Hill alderman in place of D. D. Carroll The board of aldermen chose R. D. W. Connor, professor of history at the University, to fill the seat of D. D. Carroll, dean of the school of commerce, who resigned because he was leaving for a year's leave abroad. People: R. D. W. Connor, Dudley Dewitt Carroll Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, August 21, 1924, p. 3
November 11, 1924 Chapel Hill marks Armistice Day with a parade and a packed Memorial Hall School children led by the boys' band paraded down the main street and through the campus, and an overflow crowd in Memorial Hall heard R. D. W. Connor speak on the meaning of the day. E. A. Abernethy read the Orange County roll of honor of men who died in the World War, and P. H. Winston read the names of those who died in the University hospital during the S. A. T. C. People: R. D. W. Connor, Eric A. Abernethy Place: Memorial Hall, Chapel Hill · Also named: P. H. WinstonSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, November 13, 1924, p. 1
May 5, 1925 Chapel Hill re-elects Mayor Roberson and chooses its first six-member board under a new charter Under a charter amendment passed by the 1925 legislature, Chapel Hill elected six aldermen instead of five, three for four years and three for two, on a printed official ballot. Only 76 voters came to the polls at the school on May 5, 1925; they re-elected W. S. Roberson mayor and chose Carl Durham, M. E. Hogan and Gustave M. Braune for four-year terms and R. D. W. Connor, C. L. Wills and B. S. Williams for two. People: W. S. Roberson, R. D. W. Connor, Gustave M. Braune, Milton E. Hogan, Carl T. Durham Place: Chapel Hill school (polling place), Chapel Hill · Also named: C. L. Wills, B. S. WilliamsSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 7, 1925, p. 1
March 1, 1926 Chapel Hill's aldermen vote town money toward the Black public health nurse The aldermen voted $37.50 a month toward the salary of the town's Black public health nurse, on condition that the Black community make up its $125 shortfall from the year before. The Black community was to give $25 a month and the Red Cross and the tuberculosis seal fund $37.50, all paid through the town, with the nurse working under the health officer. People: R. D. W. Connor, S. A. Nathan Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, March 5, 1926, p. 1
December 8, 1926 University alumni in Chapel Hill organize a local association Chapel Hill's University alumni and alumnae organized a local association, electing Carl Durham president, R. D. W. Connor vice president, R. B. House secretary and E. M. Knox treasurer, and voted to give a January dinner for faculty members with 30 years of service. Some 340 former students lived in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. People: R. D. W. Connor, Carl T. Durham Place: Episcopal parish house, Chapel Hill · Also named: R. B. House, E. M. KnoxSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, December 10, 1926, p. 1
April 19, 1927 Chapel Hill aldermen act on protests over Kenan Stadium blasting After residents of the south side of the village protested that dynamite blasts on the stadium site were breaking windows, cracking plaster and throwing stones as far as 1,600 feet, the board unanimously adopted R. D. W. Connor's resolution authorizing Town Manager E. M. Knox to get expert advice, confer with the contractors and act to protect the community. The contractors' superintendent said he had already cut the charges in half twice. People: R. D. W. Connor, John M. Booker, Edward M. Knox Place: Board of aldermen meeting, Chapel Hill; stadium site south of the campusSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, April 22, 1927, p. 1
May 3, 1927 Chapel Hill elects Zeb P. Council mayor and three new councilmen In a light vote on May 3, 1927, Zeb P. Council of the University printery was elected mayor over J. T. Harris, 155 to 21, succeeding W. S. Roberson, who had refused to run again after many years as mayor. P. L. Burch with 127 votes, R. D. W. Connor with 121 and contractor Brodie Thompson with 117 were chosen councilmen. A petition filed in April had made Thompson, for a time, the only candidate for alderman, and the Weekly said none of the men elected had sought the office. People: Brodie Thompson, R. D. W. Connor, W. S. Roberson, Peter L. Burch, Zeb P. Council Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 6, 1927, p. 1 (Light Voting in Town Elections) · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, April 22, 1927, p. 1

Show all 23 dated events

November 7, 1927 Chapel Hill aldermen vote to protect Franklin Street's trees and plant new ones Refusing a petition from five property owners to remove trees along the business block, the aldermen voted on November 7, on R. D. W. Connor's motion and with W. C. Coker's advice, to keep the existing trees, replace those already cut and plant new ones in openings left in the new sidewalk. After about fifty citizens crowded a public hearing on November 14, where Moody Durham spoke for merchants who wanted the block bare, the board reaffirmed the policy and Coker recommended sweetgums and mimosas. People: R. D. W. Connor, William Chambers Coker, Zeb P. Council, Moody W. Durham Place: Franklin Street business block, Chapel Hill · Also named: Moody DurhamSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, November 11, 1927, p. 1
June 10, 1929 J. G. de Roulhac Hamilton gives up the history department to gather Southern papers, and R. D. W. Connor succeeds him On June 10, 1929, the trustees made R. D. W. Connor head of the department of history and government in place of J. G. de Roulhac Hamilton, who resigned the post to be free of administrative work. The Weekly reported that Hamilton had spent several weeks travelling the South gathering old books, letters, diaries and periodicals on Southern history. People: J. G. de Roulhac Hamilton, R. D. W. Connor Place: UNC, Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, June 14, 1929, p. 6
June 9, 1930 Trustees elect Frank Porter Graham president of the university Meeting in Howell Hall during commencement, the trustees voted without nominations. R. D. W. Connor led the first ballot 26 to 20, but Graham took a majority of 47 on the fourth, and the vote was made unanimous. Found walking by Battle Park and brought in, Graham asked that Connor be chosen instead, then accepted. People: Frank Porter Graham, R. D. W. Connor, O. Max Gardner Place: Howell Hall, UNC, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Battle ParkSearch the index · Howard E. Covington Jr., Fire and Stone: The Making of the University of North Carolina under Presidents Edward Kidder Graham and Harry Woodburn Chase (2018), pp. 412-414 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, June 13, 1930, p. 1; The Daily Tar Heel, October 14, 1986, p. 1
January 28, 1931 Chapel Hill aldermen ask the legislature to let them name the mayor town manager The board of aldermen voted to ask the legislature for a charter amendment allowing it to choose the mayor as town manager, after a report on economies by Alderman P. L. Burch and town attorney Bonner Sawyer. The Weekly reported talk that the aim was to save on the $2,700 manager's salary; at the next meeting, on February 11, about a dozen citizens questioned the change and the aldermen said they had no plan to drop the manager system. People: R. D. W. Connor, Bonner D. Sawyer, Peter L. Burch, John M. Foushee Place: Town Hall, Chapel Hill · Also named: Bonner SawyerThe Chapel Hill Weekly, January 30, 1931, p. 1
May 5, 1931 Chapel Hill re-elects its aldermen in a record town vote Chapel Hill voters returned the sitting board of aldermen and Mayor Zeb P. Council, and chose C. P. Hinshaw over L. J. Phipps by 37 votes for judge of the Recorder's Court. The 730 ballots, cast in the school athletic building known as the "tin can," were far more than in any earlier town election, the Weekly said. People: Brodie Thompson, R. D. W. Connor, Ralph M. Trimble, Peter L. Burch, Zeb P. Council, Clarence P. Hinshaw Place: School athletic building ("tin can"), Chapel Hill · Also named: L. J. PhippsSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 8, 1931, p. 1
October 10, 1934 President Roosevelt names R. D. W. Connor Archivist of the United States On October 10, 1934, President Roosevelt appointed R. D. W. Connor, Kenan professor and head of the University's department of history and government, as Archivist of the United States, a post created by the last Congress, on the recommendation of the American Historical Association. Connor, who had organized the North Carolina Historical Commission in 1907 and sat on the Chapel Hill board of aldermen, was to teach through the winter and take up the post in the spring. Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, October 12, 1934, p. 1
by December 7, 1934 R. J. M. Hobbs joins the Chapel Hill board of aldermen in Connor's place R. J. M. Hobbs was elected to the Chapel Hill board of aldermen to succeed R. D. W. Connor, who was leaving to become Archivist of the United States. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, R. D. W. Connor Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, December 7, 1934, p. 1
1935 Hugh T. Lefler joins the University's history faculty Hugh Talmage Lefler, on the North Carolina State College faculty since 1926, became a professor of history at the University in Chapel Hill in 1935, filling the place of R. D. W. Connor, who had left to become Archivist of the United States. People: Hugh Talmage Lefler, R. D. W. Connor Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · NCpedia: Lefler, Hugh Talmage · Also: The Daily Tar Heel, April 23, 1981, p. 2
May 1935–1950 Albert Ray Newsome heads the UNC history department When R. D. W. Connor left to become the first Archivist of the United States, Newsome, then secretary of the North Carolina Historical Commission, was appointed in May 1935 to succeed him as head of the history department. He left the commission on July 1 and returned to Chapel Hill after ten years away to head the department and teach American history. He ran the department until poor health made him give up administrative duties in 1950. People: Albert Ray Newsome, R. D. W. Connor Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · NCpedia: Newsome, Albert Ray (Carl H. Pegg, 1991) · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, May 17, 1935, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, June 7, 1935, p. 2; Chapel Hill Weekly, August 2, 1935, p. 1
September 1941–1949 Connor returns to the UNC faculty as Craige professor After resigning as Archivist of the United States, effective September 15, 1941, Connor came back to Chapel Hill for the fall term to hold the newly established Craige Professorship of Jurisprudence and History until he retired in 1949. The trustees announced on September 9, 1941 that Burton Craige had given $150,000 for the chair. Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Burton CraigeSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Robert Digges Wimberly Connor, 26 Sept. 1878-25 Feb. 1950 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, August 8, 1941, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, September 12, 1941, p. 1
February 1950 R. D. W. Connor is buried in the Chapel Hill Cemetery Connor died in February 1950, a year after retiring from the university, and was buried in the Chapel Hill Cemetery. Place: Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Chapel Hill CemeterySearch the index · Documenting the American South: Robert Digges Wimberly Connor, 26 Sept. 1878-25 Feb. 1950

People named in the same events

People named in the same dated entries as R. D. W. Connor, those sharing the most entries first. Each line links one of the shared entries in the chronology, where its source is cited. A shared entry shows these people in the same event, not how well they knew each other.

Peter L. Burch 3 entries, including Chapel Hill elects Zeb P. Council mayor and three new councilmen (May 3, 1927)
Zeb P. Council 3 entries, including Chapel Hill elects Zeb P. Council mayor and three new councilmen (May 3, 1927)
Brodie Thompson 2 entries, including Chapel Hill elects Zeb P. Council mayor and three new councilmen (May 3, 1927)
Carl T. Durham 2 entries, including Chapel Hill re-elects Mayor Roberson and chooses its first six-member board under a new charter (May 5, 1925)
W. S. Roberson 2 entries, including Chapel Hill re-elects Mayor Roberson and chooses its first six-member board under a new charter (May 5, 1925)
Albert Ray Newsome 1 entry: Albert Ray Newsome heads the UNC history department (May 1935–1950)
Bonner D. Sawyer 1 entry: Chapel Hill aldermen ask the legislature to let them name the mayor town manager (January 28, 1931)
Clarence P. Hinshaw 1 entry: Chapel Hill re-elects its aldermen in a record town vote (May 5, 1931)
Dudley Dewitt Carroll 1 entry: R. D. W. Connor is elected a Chapel Hill alderman in place of D. D. Carroll (August 14, 1924)
E. C. (Eugene Cunningham) Branson 1 entry: Chase keeps E. C. Branson at Chapel Hill with a Kenan professorship (1919)
Edward Kidder Graham 1 entry: The 1915 General Assembly raises the university's appropriation (1915)
Edward M. Knox 1 entry: Chapel Hill aldermen act on protests over Kenan Stadium blasting (April 19, 1927)

Show 14 more

Frank Porter Graham 1 entry: Trustees elect Frank Porter Graham president of the university (June 9, 1930)
Gustave M. Braune 1 entry: Chapel Hill re-elects Mayor Roberson and chooses its first six-member board under a new charter (May 5, 1925)
Harry Woodburn Chase 1 entry: Chase keeps E. C. Branson at Chapel Hill with a Kenan professorship (1919)
Hugh Talmage Lefler 1 entry: Hugh T. Lefler joins the University's history faculty (1935)
J. G. de Roulhac Hamilton 1 entry: J. G. de Roulhac Hamilton gives up the history department to gather Southern papers, and R. D. W. Connor succeeds him (June 10, 1929)
John M. Booker 1 entry: Chapel Hill aldermen act on protests over Kenan Stadium blasting (April 19, 1927)
John M. Foushee 1 entry: Chapel Hill aldermen ask the legislature to let them name the mayor town manager (January 28, 1931)
Milton E. Hogan 1 entry: Chapel Hill re-elects Mayor Roberson and chooses its first six-member board under a new charter (May 5, 1925)
Moody W. Durham 1 entry: Chapel Hill aldermen vote to protect Franklin Street's trees and plant new ones (November 7, 1927)
O. Max Gardner 1 entry: Trustees elect Frank Porter Graham president of the university (June 9, 1930)
Ralph M. Trimble 1 entry: Chapel Hill re-elects its aldermen in a record town vote (May 5, 1931)
Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs 1 entry: R. J. M. Hobbs joins the Chapel Hill board of aldermen in Connor's place (by December 7, 1934)
S. A. Nathan 1 entry: Chapel Hill's aldermen vote town money toward the Black public health nurse (March 1, 1926)
William Chambers Coker 1 entry: Chapel Hill aldermen vote to protect Franklin Street's trees and plant new ones (November 7, 1927)

Indexed works

Works about or by R. D. W. Connor. Each links to the institution that holds or provides it. Background reading appears below.

Cecil S. Johnson papers, 1923-1970.

Johnson, Cecil, 1900-1976 · 1923

Ten and a half linear feet of papers kept by Cecil Johnson, 1900 to 1976, spanning 1923 to 1970, about 7,000 items, collection 3806 in the Southern Historical Collection at UNC. Johnson taught at the University of North Carolina, and the papers concern higher education and college teachers in the South, naming Charles McLean Andrews, R. D. W. Connor and William Whatley Pierson.