The John Robert Murdock Collection consists of correspondence, news clippings, radio broadcast scripts and speeches, election returns, and printed matter dating from 1917 to 1963. The bulk of the collection concerns Murdock's congressional campaigns and state elections between 1942 and 1950.
Identification:
MSS-62
Language:
Material in English
Repository:
Arizona State University Library. Greater Arizona Collection P.O. Box 871006 Tempe, AZ 85287-1006 Phone: (480) 965-4932 E-Mail: archives@asu.edu Questions? Ask An Archivist!
Biographical Note
John Robert Murdock, educator and US Representative from Arizona, was born on April 20, 1885 near Lewistown, Missouri. He attended local public schools and graduated from the Missouri State Teacher's College at Kirksville in 1912. After teaching in public schools from 1908 to 1914 he accepted an appointment as an instructor in history and political science at the Tempe Normal School. In 1933, Murdock was named Dean of the Arizona State Teachers College at Tempe.
Murdock was elected to the US House of Representatives as a Democrat in November of 1936 and served continuously until January of 1953, having been defeated in the fall 1952 elections. He was a specialist in water issues with particular expertise in water desalinization. Murdock died in Phoenix on February 14, 1972.
Scope and Content Note
The John Robert Murdock Collection consists of correspondence, news clippings, radio broadcast scripts and speeches, election returns, and printed matter dating from 1917 to 1963. The bulk of the collection concerns Murdock's congressional campaigns and state elections between 1942 and 1950.
To view this collection, make an appointment at least five business days prior to your visit by contacting Ask an Archivist or calling (480) 965-4932. Appointments in the Wurzburger Reading Room at Hayden Library (rm. 138) on the Tempe campus are available Monday through Friday. Check the ASU Library Hours page for current availability.
Copyright
Arizona State University does not own the copyright to this collection. We recognize that it is incumbent upon the researcher to procure permission to publish information from this collection from the owner of the copyright.
[Identification of item], John Robert Murdock Collection, MSS-62, Arizona State University Library.
Provenance
The John Robert Murdock Collection was received from his daughter, Mrs. Rachel (Murdock) Ellis, in 1979 (ACC# 79-060).
Other Finding Aids
A calendar describing each item in the Murdock Collection is available in the Luhrs Reading Room upon request.
Container List
Box
Folder
1
1
Biographical Information,
1972, Undated
1
2
Newsclippings and Printed Matter,
1935-1936, 1946,
1
3
Political Speeches and Announcements,
1936-1944
1
4
Congressional Record,
1937-1951
1
5
News Clippings Regarding Various Arizona Issues and Communist Political Association (Phoenix) Typescript Statement Entitled Departure from Roosevelt's Policies,
1941-1946
1
6
News Clippings Regarding Arizona Water, R. H. Forbes, and Albin Barkley,
1934, 1943-1944
1
7
Newsclippings and Printed Matter,
1944-1950
1
8
Congressional Record Regarding Silver, American's Creed,
1943