Thomas J. Watson, Jr., papers (MS-1U-W1)

Consists of correspondence, speeches, diaries, daybooks, manuscripts, ships' logs, military records, reports, printed material, photographs, and clippings dating from 1905 to 1994 that document the life of Thomas J. Watson, Jr. About twenty-five percent of the collection documents the period in which he was the Ambassador to the Soviet Union and fifteen percent of the collection consists of speeches. There is a dearth of material about the International Business Machines Corporation (I.B.M.). The bulk of the I.B.M. series consists of letters written to Watson in 1971 after he announced his retirement from the company.

Series 6. Correspondence: Personal: Family includes letters from Jeannette Kittredge Watson to Thomas J. Watson, Jr., describing family life, especially travel.

Watson's activities are documented through the correspondence files, especially the chronological files (Series 7). While some of the organizations in which he served are documented in separate files, much of Watson's life outside I.B.M. is documented in the correspondence files. For example, there are no files specifically for Brown University, but Watson's interest in the university is documented in the correspondence series (Series 6 and Series 7), the Ambassador to Moscow (Series 13), Subject files series, and the Foreign Policy Papers (Series 23). These series also document Watson's personal life and his involvement with private organizations.

The Diaries (Series 2) consists of descriptions of Watson's civilian travels and experiences during World War II. In 1930 he traveled in Europe and in 1937 he traveled in Europe, Japan, Korea, and China, including Manchuria. In the military diaries, Watson described his personal activities and official duties, as well as the various countries he visited. There are references to his 1937 and war-time experiences in Russia throughout his correspondence and files, especially in the General Advisory Committee (Series 12) and Ambassador to Moscow (Series 13). There are additional travel diaries from the 1970s and 1980s in Trips and Travel (Series 15).

In addition to material in the Personal: Political (Series 8), correspondence that is political in nature is also in the Correspondence: Personal (Series 7); the Ambassador to Moscow (Series 13); and the Kennedy Family (Series 9). Correspondence with Charles H. Percy is scattered throughout the Ambassador to Moscow (Series 13) and the Personal: Political (Series 8).

Watson's roles on government committees including the General Advisory Committee on Arms Control and Disarmament; President's Task Force on the War Against Poverty, the President's Commission on Income Maintenance Programs, the President's Advisory Committee on Labor-Management Policy, and the National Citizen's Commission on International Cooperation are documented in the Government Associations and Boards (Series 11). Other associations and boards on which Watson served include the American Committee on U.S.-Soviet Relations, the Boy Scouts of America, the California Institute of Technology, Sarah Lawrence University, the Business Council, and the University of Chicago's Public Affairs Conference.

The Ambassador to Moscow (Series 13) documents the nomination, confirmation, term of service, and the resignation of Ambassador Watson. Within that series are Correspondence: A-Z; Correspondence: Personal, A-Z; and Correspondence: Personal, Chronological, and the Subject files which all overlap in the Ambassador to Moscow series. The Subject files are primarily personal; some of the material is filed under the name of the addressee and some is filed under the topic. Ambassador Watson received many requests for assistance including help in locating Raoul Wallenberg and getting the Pentecostal families, who were in American embassy sanctuary, out of the Soviet Union.

The Watson's personal and political relationships with the Kennedy family are documented in the collection. After the deaths of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, Tom Watson was active in the formation of the J.F.K. Library, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the R.F.K. Memorial Foundation.

Watson owned several yachts, including the Palawan, and sailed and raced his boats worldwide. Yachts and Racing (Series 16) consists primarily of ships' logs. Watson skied in Vail, Colorado; Vermont; and Zermatt, Switzerland. He often skied with Lowell Thomas.

The Thomas J. Watson, Sr., (Series 1) includes a few items from the Computing Tabulating and Recording Co. and from the National Cash Register Co. There are some manuscripts, including a reminiscence, that give some insight to the life of Watson, Sr., and other records that document some of Waston, Sr.'s, business transactions.

The Awards and Honors (Series 17) generally includes all correspondence related to the award or conferment and some speeches. After receiving an honorary degree from Oxford University in 1977, Watson wrote a description of the entire event. The Writings series includes published periodical articles written by Watson or about Watson. Books about Watson and his father are in the Biographical series (Series 19). In addition to pictures in the Photographs (Series 18), pictures of Watson's family and of events and trips are scattered throughout the collection, filed with the correspondence that they accompanied.

The Foreign Policy Papers (Series 23) includes correspondence, writings, clippings, and other documents related to Watson's work in foreign policy matters from after his ambassadorship to the Soviet Union ended in 1981 to his death in 1993. Included are pamphlets and other materials concerning the establishment of the Institute for International Studies at Brown University in 1986.