Richard V. Gilbert Papers, 1939-1948 | Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum

Title: Richard V. Gilbert Papers, 1939-1948

Primary Creator: Richard Gilbert (1902-1985)

Extent: 8.0 Linear Feet

Richard Vincent Gilbert was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 6, 1902 and educated at Harvard University where he received his Ph.D. degree in 1931.

As a member of the Harvard faculty from 1924 to 1939, Gilbert taught courses in economic history and money and banking and participated in the Fiscal Policy Seminar at Littauer School of Public Administration, 1937- 39. He also taught courses in money and banking at Radcliffe College and international trade and finance at the Fletcher School of International Law and Diplomacy from 1934 to 1939.

In 1939 and 1940, Gilbert was the Director of the Division of Industrial Economics and Economic Advisor to the Secretary of Commerce. He then became Director of the Defense Economics Section of the Office of Price Administration and Civilian Supply (formerly the Price Stabilization Division of the Advisory Commission to the Council of National Defense), Economic Advisor to the Administration, and, from 1941 to 1946, Director of Research for the Office of Price Administration. He was a consulting economist from 1946 to 1949 and then joined Schenley Industries, Inc. as an Assistant to the Chairman of the Board. He later became a Vice President of the company.

Dr. Gilbert is the author of numerous articles and, with others, wrote a book entitled An Economic Program for American Democracy, which was published in 1938.

The papers of Richard V. Gilbert cover the period 1939 to 1948, during most of which he was a Federal Government employee. With few exceptions, the papers consist of official correspondence, memoranda, speech drafts, reports, and printed matter. Since Gilbert and his associates collaborated on the numerous reports and speech drafts written for the use of their agency and others, the authorship of certain items is unclear. For this reason, reports and speech drafts are generally filed with the records of the agency for which Gilbert was working at the time. The papers have been arranged in a single alphabetical series.

Died in October 1985.

Repository: Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum

Access Restrictions: None

Use Restrictions: Mr. Gilbert's copyright interests in these papers have been donated to the United States Government.

Acquisition Source: Richard V. Gilbert

Acquisition Method: The papers were donated to the Library by Dr. Richard V. Gilbert.

Related Materials: President Is Official File 4403 (Office of Price Administration), OF 813A (Advisory Commission to Council of National Defense), OF 3 (Commerce Department), President’s Secretary's File: Commerce Department, 1939-40, PSF: Office of Price Administration, papers of Gerhard Colm, Mordecai Ezekiel, Leon Henderson, Harry L. Hopkins, and the records of the Council of National Defense Advisory Commission.