Dick Thornburgh Archives
Archives Service CenterUniversity of Pittsburgh
7500 Thomas Boulevard, 2nd Floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
(412) 244-7091
Fax: (412) 244-7077
Email: archives@library.pitt.edu
New and Noteworthy
Link to the Dick Thornburgh Papers Digital Collection...
See the newly published autobiography: "Where the Evidence Leads" by Dick Thornburgh, University of Pittsburgh Press, 2003.
The book candidly reveals details and accomplishments of Thornburgh's 25 year career in public service, including details and reflections about the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, of 1979.
For details see the Univerity Press' press release for "Where the Evidence Leads".
The Dick Thornburgh Archives, comprising 1,140 cubic feet of his personal papers, was donated to the University of Pittsburgh in February 1988. Thornburgh, a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and a native of Pittsburgh, served as Governor of Pennsylvania (1979-1987), Attorney General of the United States (1988-1991), and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (1992-1993). He held several additional public service positions and conducted four major campaigns: one for the U.S. House of Representatives, two for Governor, and one for the U.S. Senate.
His papers incorporate subjects of research interest regarding Pittsburgh, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and national and international topics. These subjects range from home rule, welfare reform, education, Americans with Disabilities Act and balanced budget amendments to criminal justice, white collar crime, merit selection of judges, international drug control, and include the handling of the Three Mile Island nuclear emergency.
Records within the Thornburgh Archives relate to his more than 25 years of public service as well as his campaigns and political activities over many years. There are 183 published articles and op ed pieces, more than 500 speeches from the early 1960s up to the present and news releases from all his elective and public service positions. The collection is widely annotated by Dick Thornburgh, which illustrates his detailed participation in the issues and the accomplishments of his positions.
The Thornburgh Archives contains the following records groups:
- Early years from grammar school through law school (1933-1957)
- Delegate to Pennsylvania's historic Constitutional Convention (1967-1968)
- Political activities in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County (1960s and 1970s)
- Campaign for U.S. Congress (1966)
- United States Attorney for Western Pennsylvania(1969-1975)
- Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, Department of Justice (1975-1977)
- Campaign for Governor of Pennsylvania (1977-1979)
- Governor of Pennsylvania (1979-1987)
- Re-election campaign for Governor (1982)
- Director, Institute of Politics, Harvard University (1987-1988)
- Attorney General of the United States (1988-1991)
- Campaign for the U.S. Senate (1991)
- Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (1992-1993)
- Years following United Nations (1992-)
Access
Please contact Curator, Nancy Watson at 412-244-7068 or nwatson@pitt.edu
Links:
History of the Dick Thornburgh ArchivesArchives of Industrial Society
United Electrical Workers/Labor Collections