Thomas R. Adams
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Thomas Randolph Adams (May 22, 1921 – December 1, 2008) was librarian of the John Carter Brown Library and John Hay Professor of Bibliography and University Bibliographer at
Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
.


Early life, education, and family

The son of Randolph G. Adams and Helen Spiller Adams, Thomas Adams was born in
Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...
, and grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where his father was librarian of the
William L. Clements Library The William L. Clements Library is a rare book and manuscript repository located on the University of Michigan's central campus in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Specializing in Americana and particularly North American history prior to the twentieth centu ...
, part of the University of Michigan Library system. Adams served in the
U. S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
during World War II, and graduated from the University of Michigan in 1944. He received an MA from the University of Pennsylvania in 1949. In 1951, he married Virginia Matzke Adams, with whom he had three daughters: Virginia Hedges Adams, Josephine Lippincott Adams, and Eliza Stokes Adams.


Career as a rare book librarian

Adams began his career in rare books in 1947 at the Library Company of Philadelphia. He served as curator of rare books in the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library at the University of Pennsylvania from 1950 to 1955. In 1955, he was appointed Custodian of the Chapin Library at Williams College, remaining there until 1957, when he was appointed Librarian of The John Carter Brown Library. He retired from that position in 1983, and stayed on as University Professor at Brown until 1991. Adams served on the boards and advisory committees of many institutions including the Rhode Island Historical Society, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence Athenaeum and Mystic Seaport Museum. He served on the Council of the
Bibliographical Society of America The Bibliographical Society of America (BSA) is the oldest learned society in North America dedicated to the study of books and manuscripts as physical objects. Established in 1904, the society promotes bibliographical research and issues bibliograp ...
, 1969–1980, and as its President, 1978-1980.“Thomas R. Adams President, 1978–80.” ''The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America'' 99, no. 3 (2005): 384–86. He was a Guggenheim Fellow in 1963, a National Endowment for the Humanities Senior Fellow in 1971, and recipient of several National Endowment for the Humanities and Mellon Foundation publication grants. He was a member of the American Antiquarian Society,
Massachusetts Historical Society The Massachusetts Historical Society is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history. The Massachusetts Historical Society was established in 1791 and is located at 1154 Boylston Street in Bost ...
,
Colonial Society of Massachusetts Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...
,
Club of Odd Volumes The Club of Odd Volumes is a private social club and society of bibliophiles founded in 1887, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. History The club was founded on January 29, 1887, with the following intention: The objects shall be to promote an in ...
, Grolier Club, as well as the Century and Barnstable Yacht Clubs. He was the 2008 recipient of the John Carter Brown Library Medal, in recognition of distinguished service to the Library. He died in Providence, Rhode Island on December 1, 2008.


Published works

* ''American Independence: The Growth of an Idea'' (1965) * ''The American Controversy: A Bibliographical Study of the British Pamphlets about the American Disputes, 1764-1783'' (1980) * ''English Maritime Books Before 1801,'' with D. W. Waters (1995). * ''Defining Americana: The Evolution of The John Carter Brown Library'' (2008).


References

* Obituary, ''Providence Journal'' 4 December 2008
Obituary, ''University of Pennsylvania Almanac'', Volume 55, No. 16 (16 December 2008)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Thomas R. 1921 births 2008 deaths Librarians from North Carolina Brown University faculty People from Ann Arbor, Michigan Writers from Durham, North Carolina Writers from Philadelphia University of Michigan alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni Rare book librarians United States Navy personnel of World War II Presidents of the Bibliographical Society of America