Harry A. Blackmun papers, 1913-2001

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

The papers of Harry A. Blackmun, lawyer, judge, and associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, were given to the Library of Congress by Blackmun in 1997 and physically transferred in 1999 and 2000. Additional material was given to the Library by Blackmun's daughter, Sally Blackmun, from 2001 to 2003.

Processing History

The papers of Harry A. Blackmun were arranged and described in 2000 by Connie L. Cartledge with the assistance of Joseph K. Brooks, Melinda Friend, Jennifer Gunter, Patrick Kerwin, David Luljak, Sherralyn McCoy, Brian McGuire, John Monagle, Karen Stuart, and Chanté Wilson. Material received in 2001 and 2003 was processed as an addition by Connie L. Cartledge.

Transfers

Sound recordings and videotapes were transferred to the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division, where video recordings of the oral history interviews are available online at https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/ms003030.mss84430.int.

Online Content

A transcript from the Harry Blackmun Papers is available on the Library of Congress Web site at https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/ms003030.mss84430dig.142902. Video recordings are available at https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/ms003030.mss84430.int and are also linked individually from this finding aid.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Harry A. Blackmun Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Video Tapes: The Justice Harry A. Blackmun oral history project

Interviews with Justice Blackmun, conducted by Professor Harold Hongju Koh, Yale Law School, one of Blackmun's former clerks. Recorded at the United States Supreme Court and Federal Judicial Center, July 6, 1994-December 13, 1995, under the auspices of the Supreme Court Historical Society and the Federal Judicial Center.

This oral history provides a personal account of Blackmun's life from his youth through his career on the United States Supreme Court, including his years as a student at Harvard University, a lawyer in private practice in Minneapolis, Minnesota, resident counsel for the Mayo Clinic and Mayo Association, and judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

A full transcript of the interviews is available online at https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/ms003030.mss84430dig.142902

Available Items: