The Filson Historical Society Blog

Solicitor General Bullitt: The Life of William Marshall Bullitt by Mark Davis

Math: the subject that keeps me from getting a degree in meteorology and has been known to bring tears to my eyes. Whatever you call it, it is not something I am particularly good at.  Though I do have fondness for algebra and trigonometry, on the whole, math and I are not friends. Don’t even talk to me about calculus; I just can’t understand why they invented a subject that relies on imaginary numbers to solve equations.

What does math have to do with history? In the case of William Marshall Bullitt, there is a correlation between the two. Mr. Bullitt, of the Oxmoor Bullitts, was a man who led quite the interesting life. He was named Solicitor General under the Taft Administration, which gave him the right to argue all of the federal government’s cases before the Supreme Court. His success during his term enabled him to become one of America’s most noted lawyers. Apart from that, his interest and talent in mathematics drew large insurance companies to his client list, for which he explained complex tax and accounting issues to the courts.

His passion for math and a bet with a friend drove him to collect one of the world’s most valuable collections of math, physics, and astronomy books, many of which are first editions. He corresponded with Albert Einstein and was friends with many physicists. He was active in the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America. That’s a lot of math talk.

His love of math aside (which still confuses me; how can someone love math?), William Marshall Bullitt was an interesting character. Perhaps his love of a subject that befuddles me makes him even more interesting. If you would like to find out more about his life and the fabulous people he knew, The Filson has the right event for you. Mark Davis has researched Mr. Bullitt’s life using the Bullitt Family collection in our archives and will be launching his book Solicitor General Bullitt: The Life of William Marshall Bullitt on October 25.

Last week, the New York Times reported that New York University’s Hall of Fame for Great Americans (now affiliated with Bronx Community College) had fallen into disrepair:

George Rogers Clark by Matthew Harris Jouett

When it was founded in 1900, it was the first Hall of Fame in the nation, local historians say, and the elections to induct members were covered by the national press. Some stalwart defenders believe the renown even earned a reference in “The Wizard of Oz”: The Munchkins tell Dorothy, “You will be a bust, be a bust, be a bust in the Hall of Fame!”

But when the hall’s host, New York University, sold its Bronx campus in 1973, the collection languished. The 98 busts tarnished, soot gathered, and the Hall of Fame slowly slipped into irrelevance. An election has not been held since 1976.

Today, the colonnaded hall sits high above the city as an awkward appendage to the campus of Bronx Community College. To history buffs, it is a forgotten gem; to nearly everyone else, it is just forgotten.

As far afield as this story may seem, multiple collections at The Filson relate to the Hall of Fame.  As part of a broad effort to commemorate the life of Louisville’s founder, the George Rogers Clark Memorial Foundation advocated the frontiersman’s election to the Hall of Fame.  Records from the organization include correspondence between the group to the Hall of Fame’s College of Electors.  For several months in 1955, the Foundation bombarded electors with letters making the case for Clark’s election.  Yet, the group’s campaign failed.  They were more successful in other efforts, such as naming Louisville’s Second Street bridge after Clark.

In addition to the letters from a group advocating an individual’s election, Filson collections show the other side of the equation as well.  From 1949 to 1957, William Marshall Bullitt, a Louisville attorney and United States Solicitor General, served on the Hall of Fame’s College of Electors.  Bullitt’s papers, included in the Bullitt Family Papers-Oxmoor Collection, reveal both the internal discussions among electors as well as the interaction between the electors and those advocating for induction.

These Hall of Fame-related collections demonstrate the breadth of the Filson’s holdings.  Although centered around Kentucky, the Ohio River Valley, and the Upper South, materials at the Filson contain a wealth of information about people and institutions well beyond this region, even forgotten ones like NYU’s Hall of Fame for Great Americans.