Collection Guide

Thomas LeRoy Collins Papers

Date Range: 1909-1991
9,980 items (approx.)
28 linear feet.

Biographical Note:

March 10, 1909 Born in Tallahassee, Florida.
1927 Graduated from Leon High School, Tallahassee, Florida.
1931 Received LL.B degree from Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tennessee.
1932 Married Mary Call Darby, great-granddaughter of Florida Territorial Governor Richard Keith Call.
1935-1940 Served as Florida Representative.
1940-1953 Served as Florida Senator.
1954 Elected Florida Governor in primary campaign against Acting Governor Charley Johns.
1955-1961 Served two terms as Florida Governor.
1960 Elected permanent chairman of Democratic National Committee.
1961-1964 Served as President, National Association of Broadcasters.
1964-1965 Served as Director, Community Relations Service.
1965-1966 Served as Undersecretary, U. S. Department of Commerce.
1968 Ran for U.S. Senate seat vacated by U.S. Senator George Smathers; was defeated by U.S. Representative Edward Gurney.
1970 Returned to law practice in Tallahassee with firm of Ervin, Varn, Jacobs, Odom, and Kitchen.
1971 Published his book Forerunners Courageous.
1974 Served on Florida Commission on Ethics.
1977-1978 Served on Florida Constitution Revision Commission.
1978 Received first Annual Nelson Poynter Award for his public service in preserving civil rights.
1978-1983 Served on Governor's Advisory Council on Productivity.
1979 Served on Florida Joint Legislative and Executive Committee on Postsecondary Education.
1980-1981 Served on Commission on the Future of the South.
1981 Selected as first recipient of the Florida Distinguished Service medal at the premiere of his film, "LeRoy Collins, Great Floridian."
1982-1984 Served as Director of the Committee on the Constitutional System in Washington, D.C.
1983-1990 Produced Public Service Radio Broadcast Series.
1986-1989 Served on U.S. Constitution Bicentennial Commission of Florida.
1989 Collins Center for Public Policy Founded.
1990 Received first Distinguished Community College Alumni Award.
March 12, 1991 Died at his Tallahassee home, The Grove.

Scope and Content:
The Thomas LeRoy Collins Papers, 1903-1991, largely document this prominent Florida statesman's post-Gubernatorial career (1961-1991). While these materials are predominantly from this period, there are also files from his earlier years as Florida Representative, Florida Senator, and Florida Governor.

The collection includes campaign materials, correspondence, newsclippings, records from organizations in which he served, speeches, and press releases. In addition, there are articles written by Collins, books, personal memorabilia, photographs, and sound and video recordings. Miscellaneous items include articles about Collins and personal reference (information) files.

The three largest groups of materials in the collection are LeRoy Collins' post-gubernatorial correspondence, organization files, and speeches. His correspondence documents his work with such groups as the Leon County (Florida) Research and Development Authority, the "Five for Florida's Future" campaign, and the Southern Legal Council in the 1970s and 1980s; his "V.I.P." files include correspondence from such prominent individuals as President Lyndon Baines Johnson, U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, Eleanor Roosevelt, and economist John Kenneth Galbraith.

The post-gubernatorial speeches contain addresses and interviews given by LeRoy Collins to various groups and individuals. The largest volume of speeches are those he gave as President of the National Association of Broadcasters.

His post-gubernatorial organization papers include background information, correspondence, meeting files, proposals, and reports from those groups in which he participated during the 1970s and 1980s. These files include the Collins Center for Public Policy, Commission on the Future of the South, Community Relations Service, Florida Commission on Ethics, Governor's Advisory Council on Productivity, and the Legislative and Executive Joint Commission on Postsecondary Education.

There is an additional collection of LeRoy Collins' printed and audiovisual materials housed in the Special Collections Department of the University of South Florida's main library. They offer a detailed picture of Florida politics and government from 1953 to 1968, and include Florida Senate legislative papers and legislative program materials from his governorship. Topics include the 1957 Hildy Ellis extradition case, his 1959 visit to the Soviet Union, reactions to his 1960 speech on race relations, the 1960 Democratic National Convention, and his 1968 U.S. Senate campaign.

Citation: Thomas LeRoy Collins Papers, Special Collections, Robert Manning Strozier Library, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
Donor Name: Mary Call Collins

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