Scope and Content Note
The papers of Walter Sullivan (1918-1996) span the years 1929 to 1997, with the bulk of the material dating between 1948 and 1992. The papers are organized into the following series: Personal File, Correspondence, Book Files, Newspaper and Magazine Files, Television and Radio Files, Alphabetical Files, Digital Files, and Oversize.
The collection primarily focuses on Sullivan’s work as a writer and science editor at the New York Times. The papers chronicle Sullivan’s coverage of a range of topics including space exploration, plate tectonics, black holes, expeditions to Antarctica, the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence, and the International Geophysical Year. Represented to a lesser extent are materials related to Sullivan’s activities as a lecturer and teacher, and his involvement in television, radio, and film. There is little documentation of Sullivan’s life before becoming a full time reporter at the New York Times in 1945.
The Personal File series comprises documentation of Sullivan’s life and work, mostly between 1950 and 1990. The series includes an extensive collection of Sullivan’s notebooks, expense reports, material related to his lectures, and documentation of his involvement in various professional organizations. In addition to general biographical information, the series includes draft copies of his memoirs, though most of these are available in the Digital Files series.
The Correspondence series primarily includes Sullivan’s incoming letters and is organized into chronological and subject groupings. It spans the period 1948 to 1995, with the bulk of the correspondence concentrated between 1957 and 1989 when he was most active in writing about science. The files consist mostly of professional correspondence and internal New York Times memoranda. In many cases, correspondence files exist in other series as they relate to specific projects, especially within the Book Files series.
The largest series of the collection, the Book Files comprise materials related to the books in which Sullivan was author, editor, and contributor. The bulk of the file focuses on his six major publications: Quest for a Continent: The Story of the Antarctic (1957), Assault on the Unknown; the International Geophysical Year (1961), We Are Not Alone: The Search for Intelligent Life on Other Worlds (1964; revised 1993), Continents in Motion: The New Earth Debate (1974; revised 1991), Black Holes: The Edge of Space, the End of Time (1979), and Landprints: On the Magnificent American Landscape (1984). The files primarily include research files, drafts, correspondence, and book artwork. Additional research materials related to the topics explored in the books are also filed in the Alphabetical Files series.
The Newspaper and Magazine Files series primarily comprises materials related to Sullivan’s career as a correspondent and science editor at the New York Times. These include clippings of published articles and raw copy of articles written by Sullivan for the New York Times and various magazines and journals. Most files feature topics related to science with the exception of files focusing on political issues in China, Korea, and Germany in the late 1940s and early 1950s when Sullivan was working as a foreign correspondent in those countries.
The Television and Radio Files series comprises materials related to Sullivan’s involvement and appearances on television and radio programs, mostly from the early 1960s to 1990. The bulk of the series focuses on the unproduced television program “Landprints,” based on Sullivan’s 1984 book of the same title. Additional files related to Sullivan’s television appearances between 1975 and 1990 are located in the Personal File series.
The Alphabetical Files series contains research files regarding a wide range of subjects, individuals, publications, organizations, and projects related to scientific topics featured in Sullivan's writings. The material ranges from 1929 to 1995, with the majority of the files dating between 1950 and 1990.
The Digital Files series consists of digital files stored on floppy disks and mostly includes text files created by Sullivan from the early 1980s to 1993. Memoir drafts and raw copy of articles represent the majority of the files. Also included are correspondence, estate and trustee information, and files related to the television program “Landprints.”