Sam Bass Warner (1889–1979) was the fourth
Register of Copyrights
The Register of Copyrights is the director of the United States Copyright Office within the Library of Congress, as provided by . The Office has been headed by a Register since 1897. The Register is appointed by, and responsible to, the Libraria ...
in the
United States Copyright Office
The United States Copyright Office (USCO), a part of the Library of Congress, is a United States government body that maintains records of copyright registration, including a copyright catalog. It is used by copyright title searchers who are ...
.
Born Sam Perkins Fiske in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, May 27, 1889, he was the first son of Asian art collector and female museum specialist
Gertrude Bass Warner
Gertrude Bass Warner (May 14, 1863 – July 29, 1951) was an American twentieth-century art collector, with particular interests in Asian art, religious artifacts, daily-life textiles, ceramics, paintings, and photographs. She lived, traveled, and ...
and George F. Fiske. Following their divorce and his mother's marriage to Murray Warner, Warner would take his stepfather's surname and, like Murray, attended Phillips Exeter Academy. Warner traveled extensively throughout Asian with his parents and, as an amateur photographer, he took many of the turn-of-the-century lantern slide photographs now housed in the University of Oregon Knight Library Special Collections & University Archives.
Later, Warner attended
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
and
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States.
Each class ...
. Prior to entering the Copyright Office, he specialized in criminal law, writing several books and articles and teaching at the
University of Oregon Law School
The University of Oregon School of Law is a public law school in the U.S. state of Oregon. Housed in the Knight Law Center, it is Oregon's only state funded law school. The school, founded in 1884, is located on the University of Oregon campus in ...
,
Syracuse Law School, and
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States.
Each class ...
. Warner was enlisted in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
, serving in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
as an
aerial observer
Aerial may refer to:
Music
* ''Aerial'' (album), by Kate Bush
* ''Aerials'' (song), from the album ''Toxicity'' by System of a Down
Bands
*Aerial (Canadian band)
* Aerial (Scottish band)
* Aerial (Swedish band)
Performance art
* Aerial sil ...
and later as an attorney in the
War Production Board
The War Production Board (WPB) was an agency of the United States government that supervised war production during World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established it in January 1942, with Executive Order 9024. The WPB replaced the Sup ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Warner served as Register of Copyrights from February 1, 1945 until May 28, 1951. During his tenure, he oversaw many improvements in the Office and its registration procedures. Most notably, he reorganized the many disparate units of the Office into four divisions – Cataloging, Examining, Reference, and Service.
Sam Bass Warner died on April 23, 1979, in
Guilford, Connecticut
Guilford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, that borders Madison, Branford, North Branford and Durham, and is situated on I-95 and the Connecticut seacoast. The population was 22,073 at the 2020 census.
History
Guilfo ...
.
Bibliography
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References
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;Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warner, Sam Bass
1889 births
1979 deaths
People from Chicago
Writers from Chicago
Harvard College alumni
Harvard Law School alumni
20th-century American lawyers
United States Registers of Copyright