Skip to content
print page header

The University of Iowa Libraries

Guide to the Robert Donald Blue Papers

Print this Collection Guide | Email this Collection Guide
Collection Overview
Date Span:1934-1976
Creator:Blue, Robert Donald (1898-1989)
Extent:42.00 linear feet.
Collection Number:MSC0466
Repository:University of Iowa Special Collections
Summary:Governor of Iowa . Correspondence, subject files, photographs, scrapbooks, etc. relating to his political career.

Robert D. Blue was born in Eagle Grove, Iowa, on September 24, 1898. He attended Capital City Commercial College and Iowa State College. After serving in the Army during WWI, he returned to Iowa and received a law degree from Drake University in 1922. Blue married Cathleen Beale in 1926 and they had two children, Barbara and Donald.

Elected to the Iowa House of Representatives, Blue served from 1934 to 1943. He was Speaker of the House from 1937 to 1941. In 1943, he was elected Lieutenant Governor and the following year he defeated R.F. Mitchell to become Governor. He served two terms, during which he supported the standardization of property tax, improved the highways, extended the state hospital program, and encouraged the creation of a retirement program for public employees. Robert D. Blue died in 1989.

The papers of Robert D. Blue date from 1934 to 1976 and consist of approximately 42 linear feet of papers, scrapbooks, and sound recordings documenting his political career as governor of Iowa and beyond. It is arranged in six series: 1) Correspondence 2) Election and campaign material; 3) Iowa state departments; 4) General subject files; 5) Later career, and; 6) Memorabilia.

The correspondence series contains letters from Paul H. Cunningham, J.N. Darling, Thomas E. Dewey, Bourke B. Hickenlooper, Charles B. Hoeven, Herschel C. Loveless, Fred Schwengel, Henry O. Talle, Earl Warren, and George A. Wilson. The election and campaign section includes material relating to the Republican parties and specific campaigns. Some of the state departments and commissions that are documented include the Department of Public Safety, the Highway Commission, the Liquor Control Commission, and the Iowa Commission on the Aging.

Alternate Extent Statement: Photos Box 74; Audio material Box 74

Access: This collection is open for research.

Use: Copyright restrictions may apply; please consult Special Collections staff for further information.

Acquisition: These papers were given to the University of Iowa Libraries by Robert D. Blue in 1979 and 1980.

Preferred Citation: Robert Donald Blue Papers, The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City, Iowa.

Repository:University of Iowa Special Collections
Address:Special Collections Department
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City, IA 52242
Phone:319-335-5921
Curator:Greg Prickman
Email:lib-spec@uiowa.edu
Website:http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/spec-coll/

Browse by Series:
The detailed description has not been entered into the repository.
To view the content list, please follow this link.

This collection is indexed under the following subject terms.


Corporate Names:
Iowa Commission on Aging
Iowa Dept. of Public Safety
Iowa Highway Commission
Iowa Liquor Control Commission
Iowa State Conservation Commission
Republican Party (Iowa)
White House Conference on Aging (1961 : Washington, D.C.)
White House Conference on Aging (1971 : Washington, D.C.)

Topics:
Older people
Politics, Practical

Occupations:
Governors

Geographic Names:
Iowa
Iowa
Iowa

Genre/Form of Materials:
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Sound recordings