Kessler, Lawrence D.

Lawrence D. Kessler, emeritus professor of Chinese history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, gathered the unrelated papers of George R. Marvell, the North Carolina China Council, Lawrence D. Kessler, and the Newton and Underwood families.

From the description of Lawrence D. Kessler collection, 1820-1989. WorldCat record id: 52863178

Lawrence Kessler, professor emeritus of Chinese history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, assembled and donated the various papers that comprise this collection. In keeping with his formal academic interests, he was one of the founders and the long-time director of the North Carolina China Council. Kessler was also actively involved with a number of political organizations, including the North Carolina Legal Defense Fund and the Chapel Hill chapter of the New University Conference.

• 1885 - 1889 : Midshipman at the United States Naval Academy
• 1889 - 1890 : Served aboard the U.S.S. Pensacola during an expedition to Cape Ledo, Angola, and west Africa to view a total eclipse
• 1894: Patrol duty in the Bering Sea
• 1898: Served aboard the U.S.S. Vicksburg during the Spanish-American War
• 1899: Part of a team surveying the bay at Santiago, Cuba
• 1906 - 1908 : In command of the team conducting a survey of Cuba and Haiti while serving as navigator on the U.S.S. Eagle
• 1909 - 1912 : Chair of the Department of Navigation at the United States Naval Academy
• 1912 - 1913 : Commanded the U.S.S. Monterey and then the U.S.S. Helena in China
• 1915: Assigned to the Navy Department's Bureau of Ordnance
• 1917 - 1919 : Commanded the U.S.S.Louisiana and engaged in troop transport and convoy duty with the Atlantic Fleet during World War I
• 1919 - 1921 : Inspector of Ordnance at the Naval Ordnance Plant, South Charleston, W.Va.
• 1921 - 1922 : Commanded the U.S.S. Arizona
• 1922 - 1924 : Commandant of the 16th Naval District, the Philippine Islands
• 1924 - 1925 : Commanded the Fleet Base Force in the Pacific
• 1926 - 1927 : Naval War College
• 1927 - 1930 : Commandant of the 14th Naval District, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
• 1930 - 1931 : Commanded Light Cruiser Division Five
• 1932 - 1933 : Chair of the United States Navy General Board
• 1933: Retired from active service as a Rear Admiral

The North Carolina China Council, a regional affiliate of the Asia Society, was established in 1977 and remained active until at least 1989. Locally sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, and Duke University, the Council was a non-partisan and non-profit educational entity designed to promote a broader awareness among North Carolinians of Chinese culture, history, and recent events as well as to foster better Chinese-American relations. As a part of its public education efforts, the Council sponsored a number of local conferences devoted to topics such as China's One-Child policy, United States-China trade, and the process of scholarly exchange. The Council also carried out an extensive investigation of North Carolina's ties with China that culminated in the creation of an exhibit called North Carolina's China Connections . This multi-media presentation was exhibited at numerous venues throughout the state.

• 1914 - 1917 : Assistant Attorney General of the United States
• 1917 - 1919 : General Counsel of the Seaboard Air Line Company
• 1919 - 1920 : General Solicitor of the United States Railroad Administration
• 1931 - 1948 : United States District Court Judge, Northern District of Georgia

From the guide to the Lawrence D. Kessler Collection, 1820-1989, (Southern Historical Collection)