The Office of War Information (OWI) was established in the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) on June 13, 1942, to coordinate the Governments War Information program. It assumed the coordinating functions and related records of the OEM Division of Information and functions and records of Government Reports (and predecessor Agencies dating from 1933), the Office of Facts and Figures, and the Office of the Coordinator of Information units concerned with foreign propaganda activities. The Office of War Information was terminated December 31, 1945. Its overseas operations were transferred to the Department of State; its domestic operations were performed by the Bureau of the Budget until December 1946 when they were assigned to the reconstituted Office of Government Reports (see RG 44). Many of the records of the Office of War Information are still maintained by the Department of State. This series of photographs, mainly portraits, are of notable personalities taken during the war years. Several of the original negative jackets referred to the photographs as "Civilian Leaders of the U.S.A". There are photographs of U.S. and foreign military personnel, Prime Ministers of foreign countries, actors, singers, authors, and others. Some of the famous personalities found here are Gene Autry, Joe Louis, Adm. Chester Nimitz, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Roddy McDowall, Shirley Temple, Tyrone Power, Ginger Rogers, Frances Perkins, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Sam Rayburn, Charles DeGaulle, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman and others. (See the F.A. for a complete list of personalities.) There are a few photographs from the American Gas Association showing the old Franklin Stove; of the Mayerling Tragedy in Austria ca. 1912 involving the Hapsburg Family, and of unnamed Norwegian Royalty.
