Lester J. Cappon

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Lester Jesse Cappon (September 18, 1900 – August 24, 1981) was an American historian and documentary editor, and served as archivist for Colonial Williamsburg, Inc.

Personal life[]

Cappon was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1900, the son of local businessman[1] Jesse Cappon and his wife, Mary E. Geisinger Cappon.[2] He graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1922 where he was a member of Sigma Pi fraternity and Phi Beta Kappa.[3] He later received his masters and doctoral (1928) degrees in history from Harvard University.[4] He was married with two children and was a member of the Episcopal Church.[3]

Professional life[]

He began his career as a history professor and archivist at the University of Virginia, and later worked as an archivist at the College of William and Mary and for Colonial Williamsburg.[5] While at William and Mary, he was the Director of the Institute of Early American History and Culture and editor of The William and Mary Quarterly.[3]

Cappon wrote several books including Virginia Newspapers 1821-1935 and The Bibliography of Virginia History Since 1865.[3]

He was deeply involved professionally, and helped found the Society of American Archivists (SAA) and the . He served as the president of SAA from 1956 to 1957.[6]

At the end of his career, Cappon became a research fellow at the Newberry Library in Chicago. He died in Chicago on August 24, 1981.[7]

References[]

  1. ^ "Lester Jesse Cappon". Find-a-Grave. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  2. ^ "Wisconsin Births and Christenings, 1826-1926".
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Marable, W.I. (Fall 1964). "Orchids To: Prominent Historian in Virginia" (PDF). The Emerald of Sigma Pi. Vol. 51 no. 3. p. 171.
  4. ^ Cox, Richard J. (2005). "Lester J. Cappon and the Relationship of History, Archives, and Scholarship in the Golden Age of Archival Theory". American Archivist. 68 (Spring/Summer): 78. doi:10.17723/aarc.68.1.a10ju1xvu150626h.
  5. ^ Cox, Richard J. (2011). "Founding Brothers: Leland, Buck, and Cappon and the Formation of the Archives Profession" (PDF). American Archivist. 74 (Supplement): 404:19–404:20. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  6. ^ "Presidents". Society of American Archivists. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  7. ^ "Lester J. Cappon, a Historian And Ex-Archivist, Dead at 80". The New York Times. August 27, 1981. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
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