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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 as the Library of Congress records it · On the Friends’ Local Authors roster → · Library of Congress authority record ↗

5 indexed works are connected with this person.

Search these 5 works Research sources View indexed works ↓
R. D. W. Connor, 2013
R. D. W. Connor, 2013

Indexed works

Works in the index that concern this person directly, or were written by them. Each links to the institution that holds or provides it; background reading with wider context sits further down.

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.

Why this is here: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Connor, R. D. W. (Robert Digges Wimberly), 1878-1950.

UNC

Department of History of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill records, 1921-2014.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Department of History · 1921

History department records from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1921 to 2014, about 20,600 items in 23.5 linear feet, University Archives at UNC, collection 40082. Faculty represented include R. D. W. Connor, J. G. de Roulhac Hamilton, Albert Ray Newsome, Fletcher Melvin Green, Gillian Cell and Don Higginbotham. The records cover the teaching of history and political science in the state.

Why this is here: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Connor, R. D. W. (Robert Digges Wimberly), 1878-1950.

UNC

R. B. House papers, 1916-1973.

House, R. B. (Robert Burton), 1892-1987 · 1916

R. B. House (1892-1987) was chancellor at Chapel Hill, and his papers, 1916 to 1973, come to 7,500 items in six linear feet in the Southern Historical Collection at UNC, collection 3581. University administration is the main subject, with material on Frank Porter Graham, Harry Woodburn Chase, Josephus and Jonathan Daniels, Gordon Gray, Terry Sanford, O. Max Gardner, the Watauga Club and communism in North Carolina.

Why this is here: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Connor, R. D. W. (Robert Digges Wimberly), 1878-1950.

UNC

Joseph Grégoire de Roulhac Hamilton papers, 1895-1961.

Hamilton, Joseph Grégoire de Roulhac, 1878-1961 · 1895

Joseph Grégoire de Roulhac Hamilton (1878-1961) taught history at Chapel Hill, and his papers, 1895 to 1961, amount to roughly 9,500 items in 25.5 linear feet in the Southern Historical Collection at UNC, collection 1743. Diaries sit among the material. Topics include the collecting of archival materials and the Southern Historical Collection itself, Reconstruction, the nineteenth century Ku Klux Klan in North Carolina, the state Democratic Party, and figures such as R. D. W. Connor and Albert Ray Newsome.

Why this is here: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Connor, R. D. W. (Robert Digges Wimberly), 1878-1950.

UNC

Collier Cobb Photographic Collection, circa 1890s-1920s

Cobb, Collier, 1862-1934 · 1894

Collier Cobb (1862-1934) taught at the University of North Carolina and made photographs there from the 1890s into the 1920s. Approximately 500 items in seven linear feet, P0013 in the North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives at UNC. Subjects include campus buildings, the Old Well, alumni, employees, and faculty, with portraits including Wilson Caldwell, Harry Woodburn Chase, R. D. W. Connor, and Frederick H. Koch.

Why this is here: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Connor, R. D. W. (Robert Digges Wimberly), 1878-1950.

UNC

Start at OCPL

Books in OCPL’s Rebecca B. Wall Local History Collection whose titles, catalog subjects, or descriptions match this person. The Friends’ recommended starting points are labelled.

  • Foundational · NC 378.756 CON A Documentary History of the University of North Carolina, 1776-1799 Connor, R. D. W. · 1953

    Two-volume collection of documents on the founding and first years of the University of North Carolina, 1776 to 1799, compiled by R. D. W. Connor and published by the University of North Carolina Press in 1953. Each volume carries its own bibliography.

Life and Orange County connections

Dated events connected with this person, earliest first. See these 9 dated events in the chronology →

  1. 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.Search the index · Documenting the American South: Robert Digges Wimberly Connor, 26 Sept. 1878-25 Feb. 1950
  2. 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. ConnorSearch 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
  3. 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 WilliamsSearch 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
  4. 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. ConnorSearch 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
  5. 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.Search the index · Documenting the American South: Robert Digges Wimberly Connor, 26 Sept. 1878-25 Feb. 1950
  6. 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: R. D. W. Connor, O. Max GardnerSearch 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
  7. Albert Ray Newsome heads the UNC history department When R. D. W. Connor left to become the first Archivist of the United States, Newsome returned to Chapel Hill to head the history department and teach American history. He ran the department until poor health made him give up administrative duties in 1950. People: R. D. W. ConnorSearch the index · NCpedia: Newsome, Albert Ray (Carl H. Pegg, 1991)
  8. Connor returns to the UNC faculty as Craige professor After resigning as Archivist of the United States in 1941, Connor came back to Chapel Hill to hold the newly established Craige Professorship of Jurisprudence and History until he retired in 1949.Search the index · Documenting the American South: Robert Digges Wimberly Connor, 26 Sept. 1878-25 Feb. 1950
  9. 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.Search the index · Documenting the American South: Robert Digges Wimberly Connor, 26 Sept. 1878-25 Feb. 1950

Places in this person’s story

Buildings, schools, churches and other sites named in the dated events on this page, the most often named first. The map shows them all.

Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Site locations from the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office survey, Open Orange and OpenStreetMap; town and community pins mark the middle of their mapped buildings.

All places and the county map →

Named with them in the chronology

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.

Search further

The index lists works with an Orange County connection. To find everything else about R. D. W. Connor, search these catalogs.

Books about R. D. W. Connor

Books by R. D. W. Connor

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Photographs, papers, and newspapers

Searched with the Library of Congress heading Connor, R. D. W. (Robert Digges Wimberly), 1878-1950, so the results are about this person and not others with the same name. Each link opens that catalog’s own results in a new tab. The Friends have not reviewed what they return.

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Research sources

Additional research sources

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Picture: R. D. W. Connor, 2013. Public domain. Photograph by National Archives and Records Administration; www.archives.gov; via Wikimedia Commons

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