Waldo Gifford Leland: Archivist by Association

This article traces the life and archival-related accomplishments of Waldo Gifford Leland (1879-1966), historian, surveyor of archival repositories in America and in France, father of the American Historical Association's Conference of Archivists, archival theorist, J. Franklin Jameson's key lieutenant in the battle for the establishment of the National Archives, second president of the Society of American Archivists, and long time head of the American Council of Learned Societies. Special attention is given to Leland's affiliation with the Carnegie Institution of Washington, his activities as AHA secretary, and his close relations with Jameson. Also discussed are Leland's support for the archival educational activities of Ernst Posner and Leland's efforts to keep the position of Archivist of the United States free from partisan politics. The article explains how the SAA's Leland Prize for noteworthy publications owes its origins to an excess of money collected for the portrait painting of Leland which hangs in the National Archives.