C-1.12 DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY SERIES 2-JHR RIEDL, JOHN O. PAPERS, 1928-1982
Abstract: Administrative subject files, teaching and lecture notes, research and writing projects, and records related to the the post-World War II re-development of Germany, created by John O. Riedl, a member of the philosophy faculty at Marquette.
Biographical Note: John Orth Riedl was born in Milwaukee on June 10, 1905 and received his undergraduate, masters, and doctoral degrees from Marquette in 1927, 1928, and 1930, respectively. He joined the Marquette faculty upon his graduation, leaving to serve as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1945. At the end of World War II, he worked for the United States Army in a number of civilian roles with the Office of Military Government for Germany, the U.S. High Commissioner of Germany, and the public affairs field center in Freiburg. In 1953, he left Germany and spent a year writing and traveling in the United States with his family. Riedl returned to Marquette as a Professor of Philosophy from 1954-1966 and served as Dean of the Graduate School from 1954 to 1960. In 1966, he left Marquette to serve as Dean of Faculty at Queensborough Community College of the City University of New York, retiring in 1975.
Riedl's books include Exercises in Logic, A Catalogue of Renaissance Philosophers, a translation of Josef Koch's edition of the Errores Philosophorum by Giles of Rome, and The University in Process. His research interests focused on political theory, social thought, and the history of philosophy. He served extensively on committees during his time at Marquette and was actively involved in both his profession, civic, and governmental activities, serving on the Board of Foreign Scholarships and the United States National Commission for UNESCO.
John Riedl died of cancer on January 18, 1992.
Scope and Content: The John O. Riedl Papers, 1928-1982 (2.7 cubic feet) document the teaching, research, and professional career of Riedl. As Riedl spent a significant amount of time working in Germany, researchers should be aware that some of the material is written in German. The papers are arranged in five series, as follows:
Series 2.1 - Personal Correspondence, 1929-1982 (.3 cubic feet) is arranged both chronologically and by correspondent, as Riedl had originally maintained the material.
Series 2.2 - Writings and Related Correspondence, 1928-1982 (.6 cubic feet) is arranged alphabetically, and contains both published and unpublished works by Riedl as well as correspondence with others regarding his published work. Most notable is correspondence related to the preparation of his thesis and three volumes on logic.
Riedl's public addresses, in the form of both public presentations and radio programs, are documented in Series 2.3 - Speeches and Speaking Engagements, 1931-1981 (.3 cubic feet). Topics reflect both those of a professional and personal nature.
Series 2.4 - Teaching and Professional Involvement, 1929-1983 (.6 cubic feet), documents Riedl's career as a professor at Marquette and his involvement in various professional and federal appointments to committees such as the U.S. Department of State Board of Foreign Scholarships.
The final series, 2.5 Office of Military Government for Germany (U.S.) and Office of Public Affairs (Education and Cultural Relations Division), 1944-1956 (.9 cubic feet) includes correspondence, daily reports and records and subject files documenting his role in these offices, created to assist in "reorientation" of Germans after World War II, primarily through changes in their formal educational structures and the creation of new centers for adult education.
