Philip Coolidge Brooks (January 19, 1906 – July 24, 1977) was an archivist with the National Archives and Records Service, and directed the Harry S. Truman Library from 1957 to 1971. Brooks was born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

in 1906, the youngest son of Colorado Congressman Franklin E. Brooks. He completed his undergraduate studies at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, and later received a master's and doctoral degree from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. In 1935 Brooks took a position with the National Archives, working first as a special examiner but quickly advancing within the agency. In 1957 he was appointed the first director of the Harry S. Truman Library, where he served for 14 years until his retirement. Brooks was also a founder and contributor to the

Society of American Archivists The Society of American Archivists is the oldest and largest archivist Voluntary association, association in North America, serving the educational and informational needs of more than 5,000 individual archivist and institutional members. Establi ...

(SAA), and the author of books and articles on the archives profession. He was SAA's first secretary, was appointed with the support of the National Archives, and served from 1936 to 1942. He later served as the Society's seventh president from 1949 to 1951.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Philip C. 1906 births 1977 deaths University of Michigan alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni American archivists 20th-century people from Washington, D.C. Presidents of the Society of American Archivists