This series contains the records of Eugene R. Black as U.S. Executive Director at the World Bank, 1947-1949, and President, 1949-1962. They are arranged in five file categories: general correspondence, congratulatory correspondence, honorary degrees, speeches, and travel.
The general correspondence file contains exchanges with U.S. and foreign government officials (especially U.K. officials), private bankers, lawyers, foundation officials and friends, arranged alphabetically by surname of correspondent. Among the notable correspondents are U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower, U.S. Senators J.W. Fulbright and Hubert Humphrey, British Prime Minister Harold McMillan, and U.N. Secretary General Dag Hammerskjold. The alphabetical correspondence file is followed by one file marked personal action covering the period from September through December 1960; it contains letters congratulating Black on the publication of his book, The Diplomacy of Economic Development, and wishing him recovery from surgery.
The congratulatory correspondence concerns Black's appointment as Executive Director and subsequent appointment and reappointments as President of the World Bank.
A single file contains correspondence on honorary degrees awarded to Black.
The speech file contains letters of invitation and appreciation and, in some cases, the texts of the speeches. Speeches given include commencement addresses, lectures to professional associations and private organizations, and addresses to the UN Economic and Social Council.
Thetravel file contains correspondence relating to tours Black took as U.S. Executive Director and as Bank President to familiarize himself with present and future member countries' economic and political situations and to meet national leaders. It includes letters of invitation, itineraries, thank you notes, as well as letters and memoranda on the purposes and results of particular trips. Two files contain the records of Black's 1948 trip to Indonesia (then the Netherlands East Indies) shortly before it obtained independence, including background material on Indonesia's economy and recent political developments, newspaper articles, UN documents, photographs, and letters from government officials, business executives and Black evaluating the situation in Indonesia. Other travel files contain information on the Bank's role in the settlement of the Suez Canal dispute (1958-1959).
