Scope and Content Note
The papers of John Francis Kieran (1892-1981) cover the years 1917-1985 and consist chiefly of correspondence together with annotated typewritten transcripts of his World War I diary, nature diaries, ornithological notes, essays, notes and drafts of writings, clippings, and a photograph.
Kieran’s incoming correspondence is largely personal, reflecting his career in journalism and radio and his expertise in sports, ornithology, and natural history. Correspondents include Fred Allen, Brooks Atkinson, William Beebe, Hal Borland, Paul Brooks, James Cagney, Homer Croy, Garrison H. Davidson, Robert H. Davis, Clifton Fadiman, James A. Farley, Arthur Krock, Bernard Lintott, John P. Marquand, John Masefield, David Thompson Watson McCord, William McFee, Willard Mullin, Emmett O’Donnell, John O’Hara, William Lyon Phelps, H. I. Phillips, Red Reeder, Eddie Rickenbacker, Theodore Roosevelt (1887-1944), Leverett Saltonstall, Ken Smith, H. Bayard Swope, Edwin Way Teale, Lowell Thomas, Josselyn Van Tyne, Fred Waring, and E. B. White.
Kieran transcribed and annotated his World War I diary (1917-1919) shortly after the conflict (“looking back through a year of prohibitionism”). It reflects his daily routine while serving with the Eleventh United States Engineers, who were among the first American troops to land in France in 1917. His wartime experiences are also related in letters from Colonel Red Reeder and General Garrison Davidson, who reminisce in later years about their service with Kieran in France. In the miscellany section are drafts of the first chapter of a World War I narrative based on the diary.
Kieran’s interests in ornithology and natural history are represented by typewritten transcripts of nature diaries kept in the 1960s and 1970s on Cape Ann in Massachusetts together with lists of birds observed there and in San Francisco. The diaries consist of brief entries, noting plants and animals, weather conditions, and seasonal changes.
The miscellany section contains essays, incomplete drafts and notes for books, list of “Information Please” panelists (1938-1948), newspaper clippings, and photographs.