Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1926-1977, predominant 1953-1968 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
14 cm of textual records. -- 2 photographs. -- 1 audio disc
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Douglas Scott Harkness, 1903-1999, was born in Toronto and moved to Alberta with his family at an early age. He graduated with a BA from the University of Alberta, was a farmer, then a teacher at Crescent Heights High School in Calgary. He served overseas during the Second World War and was by decorated King George VI. A Progressive Conservative, he was elected as Member of Parliament for Calgary in 1945, and served as an MP until 1972. He served as Minister of Northern Affairs & Natural Resources, 1957, Minister of Agriculture, 1957-1960, and Minister of National Defence, 1960-1963. He resigned as Defence Minister in 1963 because of a disagreement with Prime Minister John Diefenbaker over nuclear arms.
He married Francis Elizabeth MacMillan in 1932 and they had one son, Kenneth Blair. In 1975 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Calgary and in 1978 was awarded the Order of Canada. Douglas Harkness School in Calgary was named in his honour in 1976.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Gifts of D.S. Harkness, James Gladstone, Hugh Dempsey, and Cameron Treleaven, 1960-1999.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The fonds consists of speeches for radio and television broadcasts, election correspondence (especially 1968), newsclippings about Harkness and the nuclear controversy, Progressive Conservative Party pamphlets (1926-1959), photographs of Harkness (1957) and early Calgary, and miscellany. Includes speech recorded on the occastion of his 1945 election.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
No restrictions on access.
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
The material is in English.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
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Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
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Notes area
Note
Title based on contents of records.
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Description control area
Description identifier
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Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Friday, March 13, 2015