Clements Library Centennial Celebration
Centennial Exhibit
Timeline
Centennial (DRAFT)
First announced in February 1920, the library building was a gift from Regent William L. Clements of Bay City to the University of Michigan. Clements also donated his extensive collection of Americana, valued at the time at close to $450,000, and consisting of 20,000 volumes of rare books, 2,000 volumes
Construction of the library building began in 1922, requiring the demolition of an aging engineering building to accommodate the $200,000 structure, which was designed by Albert Kahn in Italian Renaissance style. Late in his life, Kahn declared that the Clements was the building for which he would most like to
The cornerstone was laid by Clements himself, with librarian William Warner Bishop delivering an address. Staff, students, and the public were cordially invited and gathered on the building's steps and around the site to witness the event.
The dedication of the Clements Library took place on Friday, June 15. Dr. J. F. Jameson, director of historical research at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, D.C., was the principal speaker. His topic was “The American Historian’s Raw Material.” Acceptance of the gift to the University was made by Regent
In September 1923, Randolph G. Adams was appointed custodian of the Clements Library. With Adams officially arriving, the library was now open to the public—but not for study just yet.
A Michigan Daily article describing the papers of William Petty, 1st Marquis of Lansdown, 2nd Earl of Shelburne commented “Although the Clements Library will be available for study to graduate students only whose interest is mainly centered on historical research, the undergraduates are by no means excluded from its precincts.
Theodosia Burton, the daughter of University of Michigan President Marion Burton and his wife Nina, married George Stewart at the Clements Library in May 1924. Stewart was an instructor in English at the university. After the ceremony, a reception was held in the President’s house next door. ‘Ted’ Burton later
In May 1924, a collection of the “Voyages” of Theodore De Bry were acquired by the library. A Michigan Daily article argued that “its acquisition will make the library the outstanding depository of this work in America.”
Professor Verner W. Crane of Brown University taught a summer class, “Seminar in American History,” in the Clements. This was the first time a summer class was taught in the library.