Robert Mark Warner (June 28, 1927 – April 24, 2007) was an American

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

who served as the Sixth Archivist of the United States at the National Archives, from July 24, 1980, to April 15, 1985.Press release (April 27, 2007)
Robert M. Warner, Sixth Archivist of the United States Died April 24, 2007.
via National Archives

Early life

Born in

Montrose, Colorado Montrose is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Montrose County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 20,291 at the 2020 census, within a total area of 18.5 square miles. The mai ...

, he graduated from South High School in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, in 1945. He then earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

Muskingum College Muskingum University is a private liberal arts college in New Concord, Ohio. Chartered in 1837 as Muskingum College, the institution is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Collectively, the university's alumni are referred to as th ...

in 1949 and a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

American history The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of Settlement of the Americas, the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Native American cultures in the United States, Numerous indigenous cultures formed ...

in 1958 from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Career

He was third director of the Michigan Historical Collections before taking the federal job. The National Archives, founded in 1934, had been part of the

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...

since 1949 and was controlled by

political appointee According to the United States Office of Government Ethics, a political appointee is "any employee who is appointed by the President, the Vice President, or agency head". As of 2016, there were around 4,000 political appointment positions whic ...

s. During his term, he was elected president of the

Society of American Archivists The Society of American Archivists is the oldest and largest archivist association in North America, serving the educational and informational needs of more than 5,000 individual archivist and institutional members. Established in 1936, the or ...

, and served in that position from 1976 to 1977. As Archivist, Warner pushed for institutional independence for the archives. Charles McC. Mathias and

Thomas F. Eagleton Thomas Francis Eagleton (September 4, 1929 – March 4, 2007) was an American lawyer serving as a United States senator from Missouri, from 1968 to 1987. He was briefly the Democratic vice presidential nominee under George McGovern in 1972. He ...

introduced legislation that turned the Archives into the

National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...

(NARA) in 1985. That year, Warner returned to the University of Michigan, eventually becoming Dean of the School of Information and Library Science. The NARA Robert M. Warner Research Center is named in his honor.Press release ( May 20, 2005)
National Archives Names New Research Center For Former Archivist of the United States Robert M. Warner.
via National Archives

Death

He died in Ann Arbor, Michigan, of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

on April 24, 2007, after battling

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

for a year.

References

External links

Secrecy and Salesmanship in the Struggle for NARA's Independence.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warner, Robert M. 1927 births 2007 deaths Muskingum University alumni University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers Presidents of the Society of American Archivists People from Montrose, Colorado University of Michigan faculty Reagan administration personnel Carter administration personnel 20th-century American male writers