FBI (FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION) RECORDS
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
Series 1, Watergate Investigation File, 1972-1979. The FBI investigation of the June 17, 1972 break-in of the Democratic National Committee Headquarters in the Watergate Complex, Washington, D.C.
Series 2, Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Investigation File, 1957-1980. The FBI investigation into the possible Communist infiltration of the the Civil Rights group, SCLC.
Series 3, House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) Investigation File, 1938-1976. FBI file on relations with the "Dies Committee," the permanent House Committee on Un-American Activities, and the House Internal Security Committee to investigate possible Communist sympathizers/operatives in the government and other various other groups, such as, entertainers, journalists, writers, clergy, educators, and Civil Rights groups.
Series 4, Burton K. Wheeler, 1924-1933, 1937-1960, 1985. FBI's investigation, as requested by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, of Montana's Senator Burton K. Wheeler, a critic of FDR's isolationist foreign policy and advocate of investigating the Harding administration's Teapot Dome Scandal.
Series 5, ROTC Firebombing and Shooting at Kent State, 1970-1975. The FBI investigation into the violent events at Ohio's Kent State University in 1970, resulting the in the deaths of 4 students and wounding of 9 others at the hands of the Ohio National Guard.
Series 6, Albert Einstein, 1932-1955. Physicist Albert Einstein was investigated by the FBI because of his affiliation with the Communist Party. Einstein was a member, sponsor, or affiliated with thirty-four Communist groups, and served as honorary chairmen of three Communist organizations.
Series 7, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), 1922-1978. FBI surveillance, primarily during the Cold War years, of this women's pacifist organization.
Series 8, Destruction of Records File, 1931-1983. Memoranda and letters regarding the destruction of official and unofficial records. File contains discussion of compliance and violation of Public Law 115 that provides for the disposal of certain records of the U.S. government, as well as lists submitted to FBI field offices regarding which records should be destroyed.
Series 9, War Resisters' League, 1939-1962. FBI's investigation of the pacifist War Resisters' League.
Series 10, David J. Williams Papers. David Williams donated FBI files and documents used to write his 1981 Ph.D. dissertation at the University of New Hampshire, Without Understanding: The FBI and Political Surveillance, 1908-1941, to Marquette after his research was completed. The material was originally obtained from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and the FBI. This series contains FBI surveillance of the Communist Party, ACLU, and Workers Party of American, among other groups.
Series 11, Rev. Jesse Jackson, 1967-1984. The FBI investigation files concerning the Rev. Jesse Jackson begin in January 1967 when he became active in the Civil Rights movement as a follower of Martin Luther King, Jr. Jackson was regarded by the FBI as an extremist associated with revolutionaries in the early 1970s, but received Bureau aid in investigating threats against him as a presidential candidate in the 1980s.
Series 12, National Negro Congress (NNC), 1930-1961. The National Negro Congress was established to unite organizations and people of all races to fight for social and economic justice for African Americans. The FBI became interested in the NNC when the group publicly opposed President Franklin Roosevelt's program of rearmament and aid to Britain and France in the 1940s.
Series 13, Paul Robeson, Sr., 1941-1978. FBI investigation of the popular singer and his wife who were affiliated with the Communist Party and front groups.
Series 14, Black Panther Party of North Carolina, 1968-1976. FBI investigation of the Black Panther Party's apparent efforts to establish chapters of the Party throughout North Carolina, and centered on the Party's calls for violent revolution. Files contain telephone interceptions at the Panther's national headquarters, reviews of Party publications, and surveillance of meetings, rallies, and buildings used as Panther headquarters.
Series 15, Osage Indian Murders, 1923-1929, 1976. Between 1921-1923 several members of the Osage Indian Reservation died under suspicious circumstances. William "King of Osage" Hale was suspected of being involved. Posing as medicine men, cattlemen, and salesmen, FBI agents gained access to the reservation and eventually solved the murders. Hale and other members of the reservation were convicted. The murders were committee in an attempt to collect insurance money and gain control of oil properties.
Series 16, J. Edgar Hoover Official and Confidential File, 1925-1977. Hoover claimed he kept this file in his custody so that no one could have access without his permission. Many believe that the file was used to blackmail and intimidate its subjects who were often prominent people in and out of government.
Series 17, Bureau Bulletin, 1919-1958. Memoranda and correspondence from Bureau headquarters to FBI agents and support staff regarding policies and day-to-day operations. Most orders concern record keeping and proper procedures when filing paperwork. This series is useful in understanding general policies of bureaucracy.
Series 18, American Legion Contact Program, 1940-1966. This file records the key policy decisions leading to the institution of the cooperative relationship between the FBI and the American Legion. These documents will be of great interest to those researching the role of the American Legion and the FBI in World War II and Cold War America, the policies and priorities of the political right, and the relationship between the FBI and the Department of Justice during the Cold War years.
Series 19, Committee for Public Justice, 1971-1972, 1977. The Committee for Public Justice is a tax exempt, self-supporting affiliate of the ACLU and supported by civil libertarian activists and prominent liberals. In 1971, the CPJ sponsored a conference on the FBI and publication of the papers delivered at the conference, Investigating the FBI. Hoover's FBI sought to neutralize and discredit the CPJ, yet his successors were willing to meet with and consider the criticisms by the group. This series provides insights into the directorships of Hoover, L. Patrick Gray III, and Clarence Kelley. These documents also depict the relationship between the FBI and the media and the FBI and Congress.
Series 20, Senate Subcommittee on Security and Terrorism (McCarran Committee), 1947-1957, 1959-1980. This file contains information regarding FBI cooperation with the Senate Subcommittee (McCarran Committee). The Bureau provided, among other things, information on certain individuals investigated by the Committee.
Series 21, Courtney Ryley Cooper, 1929-1968. Cooper was a "ghost writer" in the 1930s for FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, writing many articles for American Magazine under Hoover's name. Cooper also authored several books using information supplied by Hoover, including 10,000 Public Enemies, Here's to Crime, and Designs in Scarlet. The collection includes correspondence between Cooper, Hoover, Associate Director Clyde Tolson, and others, as well as drafts of articles and of 10,000 Public Enemies.
Series 22, Manuals, 1927, 1936, 1939, 1941, 1976, 1978. This collection contains FBI instruction manuals or agents featuring guidelines in investigations ranging from anti-trust to white slave traffic act violations.
Series 23, James E. Haggerty, 1961-1969. Haggerty was an attorney for Jimmy Hoffa in the 1960s. Most of the documents in this collection pertain to the investigation into an apparent "bomb" found in Haggerty's hotel room in Orlando, Florida.
Series 24, Communist Activity in Entertainment (COMPIC), 1942-1958. From 1942 to 1958 the FBI investigated the Communist Party's infiltration of the motion picture industry. According to this collection, ten motion picture personalities, who were called before HUAC in 1947, were convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to disclose whether or not they belonged to the Communist Party.
Series 25, Walter Winchell, 1934-1945, 1948-1972. Journalist Walter Winchell was a friend of J. Edgar Hoover for over thirty years. This collection contains correspondence between the columnist and the Director and includes articles written by Winchell publicizing FBI accomplishments.
Series 26, Tom C. Clark, 1936-1949, 1952-1973. Tom Clark was U.S. Attorney General during the Truman Administration (1945-1949). The FBI investigated Clark for receiving a bribe and securing the paroles of four Chicago gangsters in 1947.
Series 27, Francis Biddle, 1939-1970. U.S. Attorney General 1941-1945. Biddle and Hoover were at odds over such policies as the detention of alleged communists. Included in this collection are memoranda found in Hoover's Personal and Confidential file regarding the FBI's investigation into Biddle's personal and professional life.
Series 28, Frank Murphy, 1939-1942. Attorney General under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. This collection characterizes the friendly relationship between Hoover and Murphy while Murphy was Attorney General (1939-1940) and later Supreme Court Justice (1940-1949).
Series 29, Homer S. Cummings, 1929-1940. Served as Attorney General under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933-1939. Cummings was instrumental in extending federal jurisdiction to include kidnapping, bank robbing, and extortion. This collection includes documents and correspondence regarding Cummings' role as Attorney General as well as an investigation conducted after Cummings left his post into his professional background and possible unethical practices.
Series 30, Adolf A. Berle, Jr., 1940-1966. Adolf Berle, Jr. was Assistant Secretary of State under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. This collection offers insight into the relationship between the Assistant Secretary and the FBI and Hoover.
Series 31, John F. Carter, 1937-1967. According to the FBI, Carter was a member of the Communist Party of America but was also accused of being the organizer of the American Fascist Party. The file on Carter, a.k.a. Jay Franklin, includes reports on Carter's activities and a pro-Communist article he wrote for the Washington Evening Star with FBI response.
Series 32, Vincent Astor, 1940-1977. Vincent Astor was Area Controller and later Head of Intelligence in the New York area during World War II. This file contains correspondence between Astor and Hoover's FBI. This file contains documents concerning an investigation into possible extortion directed at Astor. The collection also discusses the conflict over the execution of Astor's will, contested by his influential half-brother, John Jacob Astor.
Series 33, Ralph Van Deman, 1938-1957. Ralph Van Deman was a general in World War I and retired in 1929. During his service, he was an active opponent of Communism and compiled a large amount of information on Party activities throughout the U.S. Van Deman was frequently contacted by the FBI during its investigations on government loyalty.
Series 34, Robert Jackson, 1938-1968. Robert Jackson was Attorney General (1940-1941) under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. This collection contains personal and professional correspondence between the FBI and the Attorney General.
Series 35, Henry W. Suydam, 1934-1955. Henry Suydam was the Department of Justice's first public affairs r representative. This collection contains newspaper clippings, correspondence, and memoranda regarding Suydam's personal and professional life.
Series 36, Val O'Farrell, 1933-1956. Val O'Farrell operated the O'Farrell Detective Agency in New York. The FBI believed that O'Farrell protected and supported radicalism and organized crime figures.
Series 37, Gerald Nye, 1930-1933. Senator Gerald Nye of North Dakota was an adherent of the anti-Roosevelt America First Committee. FBI intelligence reports contained in this collection were said to have furthered President Roosevelt's political interests, providing information about Nye's legislative initiatives. The collection also contains reports that Senator Nye allegedly was engaged in illegal activities as well as a supporter of the Communist front.
Series 38, Lyle C. Wilson, 1941-1967. Lyle Wilson was a columnist for the United Press, Washington Bureau. This collection contains friendly correspondence between Hoover's FBI and Wilson.
Series 39, David Lawrence, 1939-1973. David Lawrence was a newspaper columnist and later editor of U.S. News and World Report in the 1930s and 1940s. This collection can be useful for the student who is interested in the relationship between J. Edgar Hoover and the national media.
Series 40, John Henry Faulk, 1943-1967, 1976, 1978-1979. Faulk was a humorist for CBS in the 1950s and was investigated by the FBI for Communist sympathies and subversive activities.
Series 41, Dissemination of Information, 1948-1955. This collection discusses the FBI's policies regarding the practice of furnishing outside agencies old investigative reports. The Dissemination of Information program was expanded in the 1950s to provide information to HUAC, the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, and Senator Joseph McCarthy.
Series 42, Responsibilities of the FBI, 1951-1956. The Responsibilities program was established in 1951 to provide FBI reports on suspected subversives employed in state agencies, in public or private colleges, or as elementary or high school teachers, to state governors and prominent civic leaders.
Series 43, Saville Sax and Theodore Hall.
Series 44, Surveillance, 1946-1953. This collection discusses the use of technical surveillance of such groups as the Communist Party of America, the Civil Rights Congress, labor unions, and the Black Panthers, among others.
Series 45, Fulton Lewis, Jr., 1938-1968. Lewis Fulton was a journalist in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. This collection may be valuable to the student studying the relationship between Hoover and the FBI and American journalists.
Series 46, Henry Grunewald, 1939-1962. Henry Grunewald was investigated by the FBI and the Dies Committee for Un-American activities in the late 1930s and his association with Senator Gerald Nye of North Dakota. Grunewald was accused of being the head of Nazi espionage service in Washington, D.C.
Series 47, Abraham Teitelbaum, 1952-1958. The FBI investigated Teitelbaum, a Chicago attorney, and whether he was the target of extortion by Henry Grunewald.
Series 48, Donald Whitehead, 1955-1972. Donald Whitehead was the chief feature writer for the Associated Press in the 1950s. The FBI investigated Whitehead's background because he was selected to write the official history of the FBI as the Washington representative of the New York Herald Tribune, The FBI Story, in 1956.
Series 49, Clyde Tolson, 1928-1973. This series contains the personnel records and memoranda that were maintained by Associate Director Clyde Tolson.
Series 50, Frederick Woltman, 1947-1970. Woltman was a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter of the New York World Telegram, writing articles on the Communist Part of American. This series is valuable to the student studying the relationship between the FBI and journalists.
Series 51, Thomas J. Walsh, 1933. Senator Walsh, together with Senator Burton Wheeler, established Senate inquiries into the Teapot Dome scandal, implicating Attorney General Harry Daugherty. Daugherty launched a campaign against Walsh and Wheeler, using FBI resources.
Series 52, Harlan F. Stone, 1924-1958. Stone replaced Attorney General Harry Daugherty in April 1924 after Daugherty was implicated in the Teapot Dome scandal. Attorney General Stone appointed J. Edgar Hoover Director of the FBI in May 1924. This collection contains memoranda, newspaper clippings, and correspondence regarding Stone's personal life and professional career.
Series 53, David Sentner, 1941-1943. David Sentner was a journalist for the New York Journal-American in the 1940s. Sentner wrote an article on October 18, 1943, disclosing radio transmitters located in San Francisco and New York City Russian Consulates. This file contains documents regarding the FBI's investigation into Sentner's sources and the validity of the article.
Series 54, Howard Rushmore, 1940-1955. Howard Rushmore as a journalist for the Daily Worker and the Journal-American in the 1940s was investigated by the FBI for Communist activity. Rushmore furnished information in many loyalty and security-type investigations during the 1940s and 1950s. Senator Joseph McCarthy requested the FBI investigate Rushmore in 1953 when the journalist was being considered for employment by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
Series 55, James McGranery, 1958. James McGranery was Attorney General 1952-1953. This file contains cross-reference to McGranery.
Series 56, George Sokolsky, 1952-1974. Journalist George Sokolsky was investigated in the 1930s for alleged Communist activity. By the 1950s, Sokolsky and J. Edgar Hoover were on congenial terms. This file contains correspondence between Hoover and Sokolsky as well as information regarding the investigation in the 1930s.
Series 57, Fulton Oursler, 1937-1964. Fulton Oursler was editor of Liberty Magazine in the 1930s and Reader's Digest in the 1940s and 1950s. This collection contains correspondence between Oursler and J. Edgar Hoover.
Series 58, Westbrook Pegler, 1935-1966. Westbrook Pegler was a syndicated columnist from the 1930s to 1960s critical of the Department of Justice and the FBI. The Bureau followed his columns closely. This collection contains correspondence regarding Pegler's opinions, data contained in his articles, and investigative reports regarding a libel suite against Pegler.
Series 59, J. Howard McGrath, 1940-1966. J. Howard McGrath was U.S. Attorney General 1949-1952. This file contains correspondence between McGrath and the FBI as well as investigative reports regarding an extortion plot against McGrath in 1950-1951.
Series 60, William J. Donovan, 1940-1974. This collection contains the background investigation of William Donovan, former Director of the Office of Strategic Services during World War II, forerunner of the CIA.
Series 61, Edward A. Tamm, 1930-1978. Edward A. Tamm was one of the two assistants to the director from 1940-1948 when he became a federal judge. This collection includes background checks on Tamm as well as correspondence while an assistant to Hoover.
Series 62, Executive Conference, 1938-1949, 1951, 1955-1957. The Executive Conference consists of the top-level FBI officials and meets periodically to review and recommend policy.
Series 63, Freedom of Information-Privacy Acts (FOIPA), 1946-1991. This collection contains information relating to the implementation of FOIPA by the FBI and policy memoranda.
Series 64, Joseph McCarthy, 1947-1971. Senator McCarthy was famous for conducting hearings regarding communism in the U.S. This file contains extortion investigations and correspondence between McCarthy and Hoover.
Series 65, Departmental Orders, 1958-1980. The Departmental Orders file contains correspondence and memoranda relating to the organization of the Department of Justice.
Series 66, Federal Register, 1936-1980. This collection contains memoranda regarding the daily publication of the Federal Register and any articles relevant to the FBI and the Department of Justice.
Series 67, Privacy Act of 1974, 1959-1976. This file contains plans, guidelines, and memoranda relating to the implementation of the Privacy Act of 1974.
Series 68, American Legion, 1937-1951. The American Legion, a veteran's organization, was seen as an ally to the FBI in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s in the Bureau's national defense activities. This file contains information relating to this relationship and newspaper clippings characterizing the government's efforts to eradicate communists from American society.
Series 69, Herbert Brownell, 1953-1957. Herbert Brownell was U.S. Attorney General in the 1950s. Brownell authorized the FBI in 1954 to install surveillance microphones in homes and offices without formally seeking his advance approval. This file contains correspondence, memoranda, and other documents relating to Brownell's tenure as Attorney General.
Series 70, Burt Lancaster, 1948-1963. Actor Burt Lancaster was investigated by the FBI for affiliation with the Communist Party of America in the 1940s, for alleged homosexual behavior in the 1950s, and participating in the activities of the Civil Rights Congress in the 1960s.
Series 71, Alfred C. Kinsey, 1948-1955. Alfred Kinsey was a professor of zoology and biology at Indiana University and editor of and contributor to Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. The FBI reviewed the book and followed Kinsey's activities.
Series 72, JUNE Mail, 1951-1981. Whenever FBI agents reported information obtained from "confidential sources," such as through wiretaps, bugs, break-ins, or mail openings, or from "sensitive sources," such high public officials or their secretaries, agents were to caption these reports "JUNE." The procedure was approved by Hoover in 1949. These reports then would be sent to the Special File Room at FBI headquarters for safe keeping.
Series 73, SAC Letters, 1919-1928, 1931-1984. SAC (Special Agent in Charge) letters were sent from FBI headquarters to heads of the nation's FBI field offices. In September 1920, Bureau Director William Flynn issued the first SAC Letter, thereafter issued periodically outlining new or revised Bureau policy.
Series 74, Comintern Apparatus (COMRAD), 1943-1963, 1970. The FBI, investigating any matters concerning internal security, followed the activities of not only the Communist Party of America, but also members and activities of the Comintern, Communist International.
Series 75, Paul Corbin, 1944-1966. Paul Corbin was International Representative of United Retail and Wholesale Employees and International Longshoreman's and Warehouseman's Union-CIO. He was reported to be a member of the Communist Party in the Minneapolis and Milwaukee area in the 1940s and 1950s. A background check in 1961 was conducted by the FBI because it was believed that Attorney General Robert Kennedy may have been interested in employing Corbin, who worked on the 1960 John F. Kennedy campaign.
Series 76, John Francis Cronin, 1943-1969. Author of Communism a World Menace, Father John Francis Cronin, S.S., was the Assistant Director of the Department of Social Action for National Catholic Welfare Conference. The Bureau reviewed the book to determine whether or not it contained anything of an objectionable nature to the FBI in the field of communism. This file contains correspondence between Cronin and the FBI and memoranda relating to Cronin's work on anti-communism.
Series 78, Supreme Court, 1935-1985. This collection contains, correspondence between the FBI and Supreme Court Marshals regarding security issues at the Supreme Court as well as requests for background checks on Supreme Court employees. The file also contains documents relating to cases heard before the Supreme Court that were of interest to the FBI.
Series 79, U.S. v. John Doe, 1947-1949. This collection contains transcripts of testimonies given in the case of U.S. v. John Doe, an investigation of espionage. Testimonies include those given by: Alger Hiss, Whittaker Chambers, and Richard Nixon.
Series 80, J. Edgar Hoover, Speeches, 1938-1942, 1945-1947, 1950, 1961. A collection of the Director's speeches delivered between 1938 and 1961.
Series 81, Orson Wells, 1935-1956. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Orson Wells was investigated by the FBI for alleged Communist sympathies.
Series 82, Walt Disney, 1940-1967. The Bureau had cordial relations with Disney who was an SAC (Special Agent in Charge) contact of the Los Angeles Office.
Series 83, Lana Turner, 1945-1960. The FBI investigated the attempted extortion of actress Lana Turner by her mother, Mildred Turner. This file not only contains documents relating to this case, but also the case of Lana's daughter, Cheryl Crane, who stabbed her Mafioso boyfriend.
Series 84, John Wayne, 1952-1978. This collection contains correspondence between actor John Wayne and J. Edgar Hoover, and other material relating to Wayne's anti-communist efforts.
Series 85, Warren Commission, 1964. This file contains the report on the proceedings of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy (Warren Commission), held May 14, 1964, as well as memoranda within the FBI concerning the proceedings.
Series 86, Venona Project, 1942-1945, 1995-1996. Venona Project was a top-secret message-interception program key to FBI and National Security Agency counterintelligence efforts during the Cold War Years. This collections contains the released transcripts of deciphered Soviet messages made available to the public.
Series 87, Humphrey Bogart, 1943, 1947-1951. The FBI investigated a series of unusual letters sent to Bogart in 1943, but later went on to collect material relating to Bogart's complaints against HUAC's investigation of the entertainment industry.
Series 88, Allen Ginsberg, 1963-1966, 1968-1969, 1971-1972, 1975-1976. Beat poet Ginsberg was investigated by the FBI for his views on Cuba, and his association with the student protest movement of the 1960s.
Series 89, Victor A. Kravchenko, 1944-1969. FBI investigative files on this Soviet member of the Soviet Government Purchasing Commission who defected while stationed in New York in 1944.
Series 90, Kenneth O'Reilly Papers. Kenneth O'Reilly donated FBI files, Presidential Manuscripts, State Department documents and various other documents used to write his 1981 Ph.D. dissertation at Marquette University, The Bureau and the Committee : a Study of J. Edgar Hoover's FBI, the House Committee on Un-American Activities, and the Communist Issue and several other works relating to the FBI and African Americans, to Marquette after his research was completed. The material was originally obtained from the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, the Harry S Truman Presidential Library, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, and the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, along with the FBI, and numerous other private and public archives. This series contains FBI surveillance of the Black Community and the Communist Party, among other groups. Also included are some FBI files requested by Dr. O'Reilly's students at the University of Alaska for their research papers, including the Julius Robert Oppenhiemer FBI Files, and the Emil Klaus Fuchs FBI Files.
Series 91, Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), 1923-2003.
Series 92, Louis B. Nichols Official and Confidential Files, 1910-1967. Contents of filing cabinets in the office of FBI Assistant Director Louis B. Nichols. In October 1941, J. Edgar Hoover decided "that a confidential file be maintained in the office of Nichols, under his direction and supervision." Hoover sought both to reduce the contents of his own office files and to ensure that Nichols could meet his assigned responsibilities.
