Archivist of the United States

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
David Ferriero, Tenth and current Archivist of the United States

The Archivist of the United States is the chief official in charge of the National Archives and Records Administration. The first Archivist, R.D.W. Connor, began serving in 1934, when the National Archives was established as an independent federal agency by Congress.

Duties[change | change source]

The Archivist is appointed by the President and is responsible for safeguarding and making available for study all the permanently valuable records of the federal government, including the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights, which are displayed in the Archives' main building in Washington, D.C.

Archivists of the United States[change | change source]

The following is a list of Archivists of the United States[1]

  Denotes acting Archivist
No. Picture Archivist Start of Term End of Term President(s)
1 Robert Digges Wimberly Connor October 10, 1934 September 15, 1941 Franklin D. Roosevelt
2 Solon J. Buck September 18, 1941 May 31, 1948 Franklin D. Roosevelt
Harry S. Truman
3 Wayne C. Grover June 2, 1948 November 6, 1965 Harry S. Truman
Dwight D. Eisenhower
John F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
4 Robert H. Bahmer* November 7, 1965 March 9, 1968 Lyndon B. Johnson
5 James B. Rhoads** March 10, 1968 1979 Lyndon B. Johnson
Richard Nixon
Gerald Ford
Jimmy Carter
- James E. O'Neill 1979 July 1980 Jimmy Carter
6 Robert M. Warner July 1980 April 15, 1985 Jimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan
- Frank G. Burke April 16, 1985 December 4, 1987 Ronald Reagan
7 Don W. Wilson December 4, 1987 March 24, 1993 Ronald Reagan
George H. W. Bush
Bill Clinton
- Trudy Huskamp Peterson March 25, 1993 May 29, 1995 Bill Clinton
8 John W. Carlin May 30, 1995 February 15, 2005 Bill Clinton
George W. Bush
9 Allen Weinstein February 16, 2005 December 19, 2008 George W. Bush
- Adrienne Thomas December 19, 2008 November 5, 2009 George W. Bush
Barack Obama
10 David Ferriero November 6, 2009[2] -- Barack Obama

*Served first as Acting Archivist of the United States from Nov. 7, 1965, until his appointment as Archivist of the United States on January 16, 1966.

**Served first as Acting Archivist of the United States from March 10, 1968, until his appointment as Archivist of the United States on May 2, 1968.

References[change | change source]

  1. "Archivists of the United States: 1934–Present". Archived from the original on 25 February 2009. Retrieved March 12, 2009.
  2. NARA Press Release, November 13, 2009, "David S. Ferriero Sworn in as 10th Archivist of the United States."

Other websites[change | change source]