Bundy, McGeorge, 1919-1996

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McGeorge Bundy (1919-1996) was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the national security advisor to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He attended school at private institutions, including Dexter, Groton, and Yale University, from which he graduated first in his class with a degree in mathematics. As a junior fellow at Harvard University, Bundy changed his specialization to international relations. After serving in U.S. Army Intelligence during World War II, during which he rose to the rank of captain, Bundy worked shortly on the Marshall Plan and as an assistant to Henry L. Stimson, a former secretary of war. A registered Republican, Bundy advised Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York in his unsuccessful bid for the presidency against Henry S. Truman.

In 1949 Bundy became a lecturer of government on the Harvard University faculty. He quickly rose to become the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at age thirty-two. Bundy left the university in 1961 to serve as a special assistant for national security at the request of President John F. Kennedy. During his five-year tenure on the White House staff, Bundy became known for his agile intellect, integrity, and patriotic purpose, and was a gatekeeper for the President and a trusted advisor during the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban missile crisis. After the assassination of President Kennedy, Bundy became an advisor to President Lyndon Johnson, whom he counseled to escalate military actions in Vietnam. Frustrated with the war and his relations with President Johnson, Bundy left the White House in 1966 to head the Ford Foundation.

During his thirteen years at the Ford Foundation, Bundy refocused the organization's efforts on race relations. The next decade he spent teaching history at New York University. During this time Bundy published his Pulitzer-prize-winning book Danger and Survival: Choices About the Bomb and the First Fifty Years, in which he chronicled decisions made about nuclear weaponry. From 1990 to 1993, Bundy chaired the Carnegie Corporation's committee on reducing nuclear danger. At the time of his death, Bundy was a scholar in residence with this corporation.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
contributorOf National Security File, Memos to the President Files, 11/23/1963 - 1/18/1969 Lyndon Baines Johnson Library
referencedIn Robert S. McNamara Papers, 1934-2009, (bulk 1968-2005) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Papers of John Coolidge and Agnes Mongan, 1909-2006 Harvard Art Museums. Archives
referencedIn Archibald MacLeish Papers, 1907-1981, (bulk 1925-1970) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Clark M Clifford papers, 1883-1999 Library of Congress
referencedIn Harvard Law School Forums Records Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn The Nation, records, 1879-1974 (inclusive), 1920-1955 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn Joseph Alsop and Stewart Alsop Papers, 1699-1989, (bulk 1937-1989) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Elmer E. Robinson Collection, 1764-1973 Stanford University. Department of Special Collections and University Archives
contributorOf Harvard University. Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Office of the Dean of the Faculty. Annual correspondence files of the Dean of the Faculty, 1894- 1991 (inclusive) Harvard University Archives.
referencedIn Leach, Walter Barton. W. Barton Leach Papers. 1920-1971. Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Charles E. (Charles Edward) Wyzanski papers, 1930 - 1968 Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Papers of NOW officers, 1971-1977 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf National Security Files. Files of McGeorge Bundy, 11/1963 - 2/1966 Lyndon Baines Johnson Library
referencedIn John J. McCloy (AC 1916) Papers Amherst College Archives and Special Collections
contributorOf Robert Humphrey Montgomery correspondence about the Sacco-Vanzetti case, 1957-1958 Houghton Library
referencedIn Alfred Rodman Hussey Papers, 1944-1964, (bulk 1945-1948) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
contributorOf Saigon Embassy Files Kept by Ambassador Graham Martin. 1963 - 1975. Copies of Files Removed by Ambassasor Graham Martin Gerald R. Ford Library
referencedIn Hamilton Fish Armstrong Papers, 1893-1973, 1916-1973 Princeton University. Library. Dept. of Rare Books and Special Collections.Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library. Public Policy Papers.
referencedIn Records of U.S. Air Force Commands, Activities, and Organizations. 1900 - 2003. Moving Images Relating to Military Aviation Activities. 1947 - 1984. VICE PRESIDENT HUMPHREY VISITS ANDERSEN AFB, GUAM National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Bernard Augustine De Voto Papers, 1918-1955 (inclusive), 1944-1951 (bulk) Stanford University. Department of Special Collections and University Archives
referencedIn Davis, David M. (David McFarland), 1926-2007. Papers. University of Maryland (College Park, Md.). Libraries
referencedIn Autograph File, B, ca.1500-1982 Houghton Library
referencedIn Harry Levin papers, 1920-1995 Houghton Library
referencedIn Recordings and Transcripts of Telephone Conversations and Meetings, 11/22/1963 - 1/3/1969 Lyndon Baines Johnson Library
referencedIn Thomas J. Dodd Papers, undated, 1919-1971. Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Center.
creatorOf McGeorge Bundy. Pt. 2 ca. March 1985
referencedIn Richard D. Mann papers, 1965-1984 Bentley Historical Library
referencedIn Papers of William Leonard Langer, 1912-1991 (inclusive) Harvard University Archives.
referencedIn Robert S. McNamara Papers, 1934-2009, (bulk 1968-2005) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Oral history interview with Dean Rusk, 1985 Nov.
referencedIn Council on Foundations, 1991-1992 Indiana University, Bloomington. Center for the Study of History and Memory
referencedIn Robert Helyer Thayer Papers, 1920-1980, (bulk 1930-1964) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Stellanova Osborn papers, 1907-1988 Bentley Historical Library
referencedIn Burlingham, Charles Culp, 1858-1959. Papers, 1876-1960 Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
creatorOf Edmondson, Frank K. (Frank Kelley), 1912-. History of AURA : interviews and documentation, 1978-1991. American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library
referencedIn Daniel P. Moynihan Papers, 1765-2003, (bulk 1955-2000) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Learned Hand papers Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Nicolas Nabokov Papers 1907, 1950-1978 Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
contributorOf Papers of John F. Kennedy: Presidential Papers: National Security Files, 1/20/1961 - 11/22/1963 John F. Kennedy Library
referencedIn Nicolas Nabokov Papers TXRC98-A21., 1907, 1950-1978 Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
referencedIn American Foundations Oral History Project, 1989-1993 Indiana University, Bloomington. Center for the Study of History and Memory
referencedIn Scott Millross Buchanan papers, 1911-1972. Houghton Library
referencedIn John MacArthur Maguire papers Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Ford Foundation records, Office of the Vice President, Office Files of David Bell, 1966 - 1981 Rockefeller Archive Center
referencedIn Oral history interview with Bart Jan Bok, 1978 May 15, 17, 19 and 1978 June 14. American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library
referencedIn National Security Files. 11/22/1963 - 1/20/1969. National Security Council Meetings Files Lyndon Baines Johnson Library
creatorOf McGeorge Bundy Papers, 1928 - 1996 John F. Kennedy Library
referencedIn Michael Josselson Papers, 1914-1991 (bulk 1960-1978). Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
referencedIn Robert Manning papers, 1938-1993. Houghton Library
referencedIn Robert Lee Sutherland Papers, Sutherland, Robert Lee., 1937-1973 Dolph Briscoe Center for American History
referencedIn Harold Phelps Stokes papers, 1908-1969 Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
referencedIn John Mason Brown papers, 1922-1967. Houghton Library
referencedIn Wyzanski, Charles E. (Charles Edward), 1908-1968. Papers, 1930-1968. Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn R. Buckminster Fuller Papers Stanford University. Department of Special Collections and University Archives
referencedIn Sound Recordings of Meetings and Telephone Conversations (Nixon Administration). 2/16/1971 - 7/18/1973. Sound Recordings of Meetings and Telephone Conversations. 2/16/1971 - 7/18/1973. Oval Office tape number 478 Richard Nixon Library
referencedIn Michael Nolan Papers, 1967-1969 Wisconsin historical society
referencedIn Stanislaw M. Ulam Papers, 1916-1984 American Philosophical Society
contributorOf Congressional Briefings on Vietnam, Transcript Files, 1964 - 1971 Lyndon Baines Johnson Library
referencedIn Robert E. Sherwood papers, 1917-1968 (inclusive), 1934-1955 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn Papers of the Williams Family [manuscript] 1798-1987 (Bulk 1802-1972) University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Houghton Mifflin Company correspondence, 1881-1981 (inclusive), 1940-1979 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn Felix Frankfurter Papers, 1900-1965. Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Harvard University. Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Office of the Dean of the Faculty. Records relating to Corporation meetings, 1870-1982 (inclusive) Harvard University Archives.
referencedIn Oral History interview with Margaret W. Mayall, 1986 August 11 and September 12 American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library
referencedIn Jacques Barzun papers, 1900-1999 Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn Sheldon Glueck papers Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Jessica Mitford Papers 1949-1973 Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
referencedIn Harvard University Archives Photograph Collection: Portraits, oversize, ca. 1829-1985 Harvard University Archives.
referencedIn John Sylvester Fischer papers, 1907-1980 Yale University Library
referencedIn Archibald MacLeish Papers, 1907-1981, (bulk 1925-1970) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn David Schoenbrun papers, 1943-1980 (bulk 1962-1980) University of Wisconsin - Madison, General Library System
creatorOf McGeorge Bundy. Pt. 1 1 March 1985
referencedIn Max Lerner papers, 1927-1998 Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
referencedIn Sigmund Diamond Papers, [ca. 1950]-1990 Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn Chester Bowles papers, 1924-1982 Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
referencedIn Papers of Paul J. Sachs, 1903-2005 Harvard Art Museums. Archives
referencedIn Nicolas Nabokov Papers 1907, 1950-1978 Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
referencedIn Papers of Samuel Andrew Stouffer, 1930-1960 (inclusive) Harvard University Archives.
referencedIn James Perkins papers, 1963-1969. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
creatorOf Papers of McGeorge Bundy, Notes File 1964 - 1966 Lyndon Baines Johnson Library
referencedIn Records of the President of Radcliffe College, 1960-1972 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn William Ernest Hocking papers Houghton Library
referencedIn Benjamin S. Loeb Papers, 1945-1999, (bulk 1961-1971) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Jacques Barzun papers, 1900-1999 Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn Papers of Howard Mumford Jones, 1911-1980 (inclusive) Harvard University Archives.
referencedIn Paul A. Freund papers Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Papers of George Wald, 1927-1996 Harvard University Archives.
referencedIn Andreĭ Sakharov papers, 1852-2002 (inclusive), 1960-1990 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn Harvard University Archives Photograph Collection: Portraits, ca. 1852-ca. 2004 Harvard University Archives.
referencedIn Harris, L. mss., 1931-1977 Lilly Library (Indiana University, Bloomington)
referencedIn Dean Gooderham Acheson papers, 1898-1989 Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
referencedIn Papers of William Bentinck-Smith, 1936-1993 (inclusive) Harvard University Archives.
referencedIn Erik H. and Joan M. Erikson papers, 1925-1985 (inclusive) 1960-1980 (bulk). Houghton Library
creatorOf Ford Foundation records, Office of the President, Office Files of McGeorge Bundy, 1965-1979 Rockefeller Archive Center
referencedIn Papers of Avis Howard Thayer Bohlen, 1929-1981 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf National Security File, Files of the Special Committee of the National Security Council, 11/22/1963 - 1/20/1969 Lyndon Baines Johnson Library
Philip Elman Papers, 1925-1979 Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Acheson, Dean, 1893-1971 person
associatedWith Alsop, Joseph W. (Joseph Wright), 1876-1953 person
correspondedWith Armstrong, Hamilton Fish, 1893-1973 person
associatedWith Barzun, Jacques, 1907- person
associatedWith Bentinck-Smith, William, 1914-1993. person
associatedWith Bohlen, Avis Howard Thayer, 1912-1981. person
associatedWith Bok, Bart J. (Bart Jan), 1906-1983. person
associatedWith Bowles, Chester, 1901-1986 person
correspondedWith Brown, John Mason, 1900-1969 person
correspondedWith Buchanan, Scott Millross, 1895-1968 person
spouseOf Bundy, Mary Lothrop, 1924- person
associatedWith Bunting, Mary Ingraham, 1910- person
associatedWith Burlingham, Charles Culp, 1858-1959 person
associatedWith Carnegie corporation of New York corporateBody
correspondedWith Clifford, Clark M., 1906-1998 person
correspondedWith Coolidge, John, 1913-1995 person
associatedWith Davis, David M. (David McFarland), 1926- person
associatedWith De Voto, Bernard Augustine, 1897-1955 person
associatedWith Dewey, Thomas E. (Thomas Edmund), 1902-1971 person
associatedWith Diamond, Sigmund. person
correspondedWith Dodd, Thomas J. (Thomas Joseph), 1907-1971 person
associatedWith Edmondson, Frank K. (Frank Kelley), 1912- person
associatedWith Elman, Philip, 1918- person
correspondedWith Erikson, Erik H. (Erik Homburger), 1902-1994 person
associatedWith Fischer, John Sylvester, 1910-1978. person
associatedWith Ford Foundation. Office of the President. corporateBody
associatedWith Frankfurter, Felix, 1882-1965. person
associatedWith Fuller, R. Buckminster (Richard Buckminster), 1895-1983 person
associatedWith Glueck, Sheldon, 1896- person
associatedWith Griswold, Harriet Ford, 1904- person
alumnusOrAlumnaOf Groton School corporateBody
associatedWith Guérard, Albert J. (Albert Joseph), 1914- person
associatedWith Hand, Learned, 1872-1961 person
associatedWith Harris, Leon A. person
correspondedWith Harvard Law School Forum corporateBody
associatedWith Harvard University. Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Office of the Dean of the Faculty. corporateBody
correspondedWith Hocking, William Ernest, 1873-1966 person
correspondedWith Houghton Mifflin Company. corporateBody
associatedWith Howe, Mark De Wolfe, 1906-1967 person
correspondedWith Hussey, Alfred Rodman, -1964. person
associatedWith Indiana University Center for the Study of History and Memory corporateBody
associatedWith James Alfred, Perkins 1911- person
associatedWith Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973. person
associatedWith Jones, Howard Mumford, 1892-1980. person
associatedWith Josselson, Michael. person
associatedWith Josselson, Michael, 1908-1978 person
associatedWith Judith Lightfoot, 1937- person
associatedWith Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963. person
associatedWith Langer, William L. (William Leonard), 1896-1977. person
associatedWith Leach, W. Barton (Walter Barton), 1900- person
associatedWith Lerner, Max, 1902-2001. person
correspondedWith Levin, Harry, 1912-1994 person
associatedWith Lightfoot, Judith, 1937- person
correspondedWith Loeb, Benjamin S., 1914- person
correspondedWith MacLeish, Archibald, 1892-1982 person
associatedWith Maguire, John MacArthur, 1888-1978 person
correspondedWith Manning, Robert, 1919- person
associatedWith Mann, Richard D. (Richard Dewey), 1933- person
associatedWith Mayall, Margaret W. (Margaret Walton) person
associatedWith McCloy, John J. (John Jay), 1895-1989. person
correspondedWith McNamara, Robert S., 1916-2009 person
associatedWith Mitford, Jessica, 1917-1996. person
associatedWith Montgomery, Robert H. (Robert Humphrey), b. 1889. person
correspondedWith Moynihan, Daniel P. (Daniel Patrick), 1927-2003 person
associatedWith Nabokov, Nicolas, 1903-1978 person
associatedWith National Security Council (U. S.) corporateBody
correspondedWith Nation (New York, N.Y. : 1865). corporateBody
associatedWith New York (State). Select Committee on the Future of Private and Independent Higher Education in the State of New York. corporateBody
employeeOf New York University corporateBody
associatedWith Nolan, Michael, 1941- person
associatedWith Osborn, Stellanova, 1894-1988 person
associatedWith Paul A. Freund person
associatedWith Perkins, James Alfred, 1911-1998. person
memberOf Phi beta kappa corporateBody
associatedWith Robinson, Elmer E., 1894-1982. person
associatedWith Roosevelt family. family
associatedWith Rusk, Dean, 1909-1994, person
associatedWith Rusk, Richard, person
associatedWith Sachs, Paul J., 1878-1965 person
correspondedWith Sakharov, Andreĭ, 1921-1989 person
associatedWith Schoenbrun, David. person
correspondedWith Sherwood, Robert E. (Robert Emmet), 1896-1955 person
correspondedWith Stewart, Michael E. person
associatedWith Stimson, Henry L. (Henry Lewis), 1867-1950. person
associatedWith Stokes, Harold Phelps, 1887-1970. person
associatedWith Stouffer, Samuel Andrew, 1900-1960. person
associatedWith Sutherland, Robert L. (Robert Lee) person
correspondedWith Thayer, Robert Helyer, 1901-1984 person
associatedWith Ulam, Stanislaw M. (Stanislaw Marcin), 1909-1985 person
correspondedWith Wald, George. person
associatedWith Williams family. family
associatedWith WNYC (Radio station : New York, N.Y.) corporateBody
associatedWith Wyzanski, Charles E. (Charles Edward), 1906-1986. person
alumnusOrAlumnaOf Yale University. corporateBody
associatedWith Young, Kenneth T. (Kenneth Todd), 1916- person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Boston MA US
United States 00 US
Boston MA US
Subject
Bay of Pigs Invasion, Cuba, 1961
Cabinet officers
Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
Executive power
Ford Foundation
Harvard
International relations 20th century
Pentagon Papers
Presidents
Vietnam War, 1961-1975
Occupation
Dean
Presidential advisors
Professor
Activity

Person

Birth 1919-03-30

Death 1996-09-16

Male

Americans

English

Information

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Ark ID: w6387zz9

SNAC ID: 84230040