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Ford Lewis Battles Collection

Overview

Abstract

Scope and Contents

Biographical Note

Administrative Information

Detailed Description

[General Materials]

Photographs



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Ford Lewis Battles Collection, 1925-1980 | Heritage Hall, Hekman Library

By Ed Gerritsen, 2004; Emily Koelzer, 2022

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Collection Overview

Title: Ford Lewis Battles Collection, 1925-1980

Predominant Dates:1950-1979

ID: COLL/466

Primary Creator: Battles, Ford Lewis

Extent: 42.5 Cubic Feet. More info below.

Arrangement: Folder level description

Date Acquired: 00/00/2004. More info below under Accruals.

Subjects: Battles, Ford Lewis, Calvin, Jean, 1509-1564, Translating

Languages: English

Abstract

The Ford Lewis Battles collection houses the personal papers of Ford Lewis Battles. This collection, which contains materials dating from 1727-1980, consists of correspondence, writings, and materials from Battles’s time as a translator and educator.

Scope and Contents of the Materials

This collection details the personal and professional life of Ford Lewis Battles (1915-1979), renowned scholar of Christian church history and of John Calvin, and contains extensive personal and professional correspondence, with such individuals as John Walchenbach, John McNeill, P. T. Furhmann, Robert Benedetto, and Fred Klooster.  Also details Battles’ research and scholarship, presents examples of his teaching syllabi, lecture notes, and papers written by his students.  As the leading scholar of John Calvin during the twentieth century, the collection provides insight into the historiography of Reformed Christianity. The material is particularly rich in detailing his various translation projects beginning in 1950.

There are some historical documents in this collection of unknown provenance including German administrative documents from 1727 and a diaries and letters from the late 19th century which belonged to the family of Samuel Hanna.

Collection Historical Note

Battles graduated from West Virginia University (AB, 1936); Tufts University (MA, 1938; and Hartford Seminary Foundation (PhD, 1950).  He was a Rhodes Scholar at Exeter College, Oxford University, 1938-1940; and he served in the United States Army, 1941-1945.

Following WW II, Battles began his teaching career at his alma mater, West Virginia University.  He resigned three years later, in 1948, to join the faculty of Hartford Seminary Foundation, ultimately becoming academic dean.  In 1968 he went to the faculty of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, which he left in 1978 to join the Calvin Theological Seminary faculty.

An accomplished teacher, Battles was also a prodigious and groundbreaking scholar.  Among numerous books and articles is an annotated translation of John Calvin 1559 Institutes that became the standard for all Calvin studies, the Commentary on Seneca’s De Clementia, a translation of Calvin’s 1536 Institutes, as well as a computerized index to the Institutes.

He was born 30 Jan 1915 in Erie, Pennsylvania, the son of Ford Lewis Battles and Lucy Clare Stewart. In 1945 Battles married Marion Davis, an accomplished pianist and student of law and diplomacy.  They had two daughters, Nancy Marion (b. 1946) and Emily Stewart (b. 1951).  Battles died 22 Nov 1979 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Biographical Note

Battles graduated from West Virginia University (AB, 1936); Tufts University (MA, 1938; and Hartford Seminary Foundation (PhD, 1950).  He was a Rhodes Scholar at Exeter College, Oxford University, 1938-1940; and he served in the United States Army, 1941-1945.

Following WW II, Battles began his teaching career at his alma mater, West Virginia University.  He resigned three years later, in 1948, to join the faculty of Hartford Seminary Foundation, ultimately becoming academic dean.  In 1967 he went to the faculty of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, which he left in 1978 to join the Calvin Theological Seminary faculty.

An accomplished teacher, Battles was also a prodigious and groundbreaking scholar.  Among numerous books and articles is an annotated translation of John Calvin 1559 Institutes that became the standard for all Calvin studies, the Commentary on Seneca's De Clementia, a translation of Calvin's 1536 Institutes, as well as a computerized index to the Institutes.

He was born 30 Jan 1915 in Erie, Pennsylvania, the son of Ford Lewis Battles and Lucy Clare Stewart. In 1945 Battles married Marion Davis. Marion earned a Master's degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. She worked for the Office of Strategic Services in Washington, DC where she met Battles, who was stationed in DC as a member of the Air Force Army. Marion specialized in the human rights of prisoners of war at the close of World War II and also participated in the International Communities of Calvin Scholars. Battles and Marion had two daughters, Nancy Marion (b. 1946) and Emily Stewart (b. 1951).  Battles died 22 Nov 1979 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Subject/Index Terms

Battles, Ford Lewis
Calvin, Jean, 1509-1564
Translating

Administrative Information

Repository: Heritage Hall, Hekman Library

Accruals: 2021, Meeter Center

Alternate Extent Statement: 90 Boxes

Access Restrictions: Collection held in Heritage Hall; materials are not available for circulation

Acquisition Source: Meeter Center, Calvin College, 2004

Finding Aid Revision History: 24 cubic feet of material was added to the collection in late 2021. These materials were added to the end of the collection.


Box and Folder Listing


Browse by Series:

[Series 1: [General Materials]],
[Series 2: Photographs],
[All]

Series 2: Photographs
Box 64
Folder 2
Item 1: Ford Lewis Battles (several)
Item 2: Wedding picture
Item 3: 29th Pursuit Squadron --- 1941
Box 88
Folder 5: Battles-Davis Wedding Photos, Washington, D.C. --- 1945 January
Folder 6: Battles-Davis Wedding Photos, Washington, D.C. --- 1945 January
Folder 7: Photos

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: [General Materials]],
[Series 2: Photographs],
[All]


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