Hanna, Paul Robert, 1902-

In 1935, Paul and Jean Hanna commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design their home to be built on the Stanford University campus. Construction, begun in 1937, continued in four stages over 25 years. The house was the first structure in the world to use Frank Lloyd Wright's hexagonal grid system, which has subsequently been used widely in American architecture.

From the description of Hanna house collection, 1935-1982. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122448814

Professor of Education at Stanford (1936-74; emeritus 1974- ), Director of Stanford University Services (1942-44), Director of the Stanford International Development Education Center (SIDEC) (1963-68) and Senior Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution (1974- ).

From the description of Paul Robert Hanna papers, 1955-1969. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 703381582

American educator; director, Stanford International Development Education Center, 1963-1968.

From the description of Paul Robert Hanna papers, 1920-1997. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 754870863

In 1935, Paul and Jean Hanna commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design their home to be built on the Stanford University campus. Construction, begun in 1937, continued in four stages over 25 years. The house was the first structure in the world to use Frank Lloyd Wright's hexagonal grid system, which has subsequently been used widely in buildings.

From the description of Hanna-Honeycomb house collection, 1935-1982 [microform]. (Stanford University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 707971253

Jean-Baptiste Paulin Caperon (better known in California as Peter Coutts), was a successful French businessman, book collector and editor of the republican, anti-royalist paper, LA LIBERTE. Political disputes and health problems caused him to leave France and take up residence in California. In 1875 Caperon, now known as Peter Coutts, purchased 1,400 acres just north of Mayfield and named it Rancho Matadero. Coutts returned to Europe in 1880 to reclaim his confiscated estates and Rancho Matadero was sold to neighbor Leland Stanford.

From the guide to the Peter Coutts' Story papers, 1900-1986, (Department of Special Collections and University Archives)

Biographical/Historical note

In 1935, Paul and Jean Hanna commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design their home to be built on the Stanford University campus. Construction, begun in 1937, continued in four stages over 25 years. The house was the first structure in the world to use Frank Lloyd Wright's hexagonal grid system, which has subsequently been used widely in American architecture.

From the guide to the Hanna House collection, 1935-1992, (Dept. of Special Collections & University Archives)

Biographical/Historical Sketch

Professor of Education at Stanford (1936-74; emeritus 1974-1988), Director of Stanford University Services (1942-44), Director of the Stanford International Development Education Center (SIDEC) (1963-68) and Senior Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution (1974-1988).

Paul Robert Hanna was born in Sioux City, Iowa, on June 21, 1902, to George Archibald and Regula Figi Hanna. Hanna spent most of his youth in Minnesota. He graduated high school in 1920 and married Jean Shuman in 1926. Paul and Jean Hanna had two sons and a daughter, John (born 1930), Emily (born 1932), and Robert (born 1934) and lived in the Hanna-Honeycomb House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Throughout his school and college years, Hanna belonged to many organizations such as the Kappa Delta Rho, Student Council, and the Extemporaneous Team. He attended college from 1924 to 1929 to earn his Ph.D. degree which led him to become a teacher in Washington State University and in 1935 became an associate professor at Stanford University (Nelson). He had studied and taught elementary education, social studies, and he had improved the education of spelling as well as had his say in the international development of education. Additionally he consulted public schools and revised their curriculum. Paul R. Hanna had also a strong community relationship with his students and kept in contact with them long after they had graduated.

As an associate professor Hanna taught and developed a wide variety of courses. He advised on doctoral dissertations, founded the Stanford International Development Education Center (SIDEC), served on the Board of Trustees of Castilleja from 1957–1981, and worked as a senior researcher in the Hoover Institution in his last years to generate the Hanna Collection. Hanna wrote over eighty educational essays, sixteen books and several yearbooks before he died at age 85, on April 8, 1988.

From the guide to the Paul Robert Hanna Papers, 1949-1970, (Dept. of Special Collections & University Archives)

Biographical Note

• 1902, June 21: born, Sioux City, Iowa
• 1924: A.B., Philosophy magna cum laude, Hamline University
• 1925: A.M., Columbia University
• 1925 - 1927 : Superintendent of Schools, West Winfield, New York
• 1928 - 1935 : Research associate, Lincoln School, Columbia University
• 1929: Ph.D., Columbia University
• 1930 - 1935 : Assistant Professor, Teachers College, Columbia University
• 1930 - 1975 : Designer and senior author, Investigating Man's World, a series of social science texbooks, Scott, Foresman and Co.
• 1930 - 1944 : Founder and Member, editorial board, Building America
• 1933 - 1940 : Consultant to Tennessee Valley Authority
• 1935 - 1937 : Associate professor of Education, Stanford University
• 1936 - 1939 : National Director, U.S. Council for Conservation Education
• 1936 - 1966 : Member, editorial board, World Book Encyclopedia
• 1937: Doctor of Pedagogy (honorary), Hamline University
• 1937 - 1954 : Professor of Education, Stanford University
• 1939 - 1942 : Consultant to National Resources Planning Board
• 1940 - 1942 : Consultant to Coordinator of Intern-American Affairs, with assignments to South America and Central America
• 1941 - 1945 : Member, Curriculum Committee, National Council for Social Studies
• 1942 - 1944 : Director, Stanford University Services (war contracts for research and training); Consultant to U.S. Secretary of War on Army Specialized Training Program
• 1942 - 1945 : Consultant to War Relocation Authority
• 1944 - 1958 : Staff and Advisory Committee, W.K. Kellogg Foundation
• 1947: Consultant to U.S. Secretary of War on re-education of Germany
• 1948 - 1960 : Member, editorial board, Encyclopedia Britannica Films
• 1949: Member, UNESCO consultative educational mission to the Philippines
• 1952 - 1953 : Director, Educational Division, U.S. Mutual Security Agency, Philippines
• 1953 - 56 : Coordinator, University of the Philippines-Stanford University Contract, U.S. Agency for International Development
• 1954 - 1967 : Lee L. Jacks Professor of Education, Stanford University
• 1954 - 1968 : Founding Director, Stanford International Development Education Center (SIDEC)
• 1955 - 1958 : Member, U.S. National Commission for UNESCO Committee on Fundemental Society
• 1955 - 1960 : Member, Committee on Institutional Projects Abroad, American Council of Education
• 1956 - 1960 : Coordinator, Philippines Department of Education-Stanford University Contract, U.S. Agency for International Development
• 1958: Visiting professor, Harvard University
• 1962 - 1967 : Member, Committee on International Education Policy of the Commission on Education and International Affairs of the American Council on Education
• 1963: Acting Dean, School of Education, Stanford University Editor, Education: An Instrument of National Goals, McGraw-Hill
• 1963 - 1969 : Consultant, Cooperative Research Branch, U.S. Office of Education
• 1964 - 1968 : Member, Commission on International Education of the American Council of Education; Chairman, Committee on International Relations, American Educational Research Association; Member, Committee on Education and Human Development of Education and World Affairs
• 1964 - 1972 : Member, Committee on Atlantic Studies of the Atlantic Council and Atlantic Institute
• 1964 - 1969 : Educational advisor, Elementary School Professional Education Book Series, Houghton Mifflin Co.
• 1964 - 1970 : Member, Editorial Board, American Educational Press
• 1965: Senior Fellow, East-West Center, Honolulu
• 1966: Co-author, Geography in the Teaching of Social Studies -Concepts and Skills, Houghton Mifflin Co.; Chairman, U.S. Department of State Team to Yugoslavia on Educational and Cultural Exchanges; Principal researcher, Phoneme -Grapheme Correspondences as Cues to Spelling Improvement, U.S. Government Printing Office
• 1967: American specialist, U.S. Department of State, assigned to four African national governments on educational reforms
• 1968: Director, Stanford Asia Foundation Seminar, Role of Higher Education in Asian Nation Building, held in Korea
• 1968 - 69 : Chairman, National Evaluation Committee for Peace Corps/University Relations
• 1968 - : Emeritus Jacks Professor and Emeritus Director of SIDEC, Stanford University
• 1969: Co-author, The United States and International Education, The National Society for the Study of Education
• 1970: Co-author, Spelling: Structure and Strategies, Houghton Mifflin Co.
• 1970 - 1975 : Member, U.S. National Commission for UNESCO
• 1973 - 1976 : Member, California Citizens Advisory Committee on State Parks and Recreation
• 1974 - : Senior Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
• 1975 - 1977 : Member, Aspen Institute's National Commission on Coping with Interdependence
• 1981: Co-author, Frank Lloyd Wright's Hanna House: The Clients' Report, MIT Press
• 1981: Appointed to the Presidential Task Force on Arts and Humanities
• 1988, April: died, Stanford, California

From the guide to the Paul Robert Hanna papers, 1920-1997, (Hoover Institution Archives)