George Chaplin papers
Collection Overview
Material related to the life and career of George Chaplin. Includes biographical information on the Chaplin family including birth and death dates and locations for Chaplin's grandparents (Abraham and Vera Bayarsky and Chaim and Reba Tschaplinsky) and parents, Morris and Netty Chaplin; short biographies of George Chaplin and his son, Stephen M. Chaplin.
Photographs (all b/w) include formal portrait of the Chaplin, Citron and Berkovitz families in Columbia, SC (1916), photocopy image of George Chaplin in military uniform (1935), photograph of Morris Chaplin (ca. 1960s), and photo (1987) of George Chaplin receiving the Judah Magnes Award from Dr. Bernard Cherrick, Vice President of Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Correspondence (1979-1982) consists of letters of congratulations for Chaplin's achievements from Mike Mansfield, U.S. Ambassador to Tokyo; President Jimmy Carter; Sen. Daniel K. Inouye; and Hawaii Gov. John Wiahee.
Publications written by Chaplin include articles on Israel, the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial, use of the atomic bomb, and myths about the South, published in The Honolulu Advertiser and Post and Courier (Charleston, SC). Series of articles and clippings (1935-1995) about George Chaplin include photocopy of Chaplin's page in the Clemson yearbook (1935); articles about his many journalistic achievements; page referencing Chaplin in "Gods with Machine: A History of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, 1923-1993," by Paul Alfred Pratte.
Material related to Chaplin's awards and honors contains a resolution (1977) from the U.S. House of Representatives congratulating Chaplin on becoming President of the American Society of Newspaper Editors; a program (1988) from "Toasts and Roasts Honoring George Chaplin: a Benefit for the Honolulu Symphony"; resolution (1987) from City and County Council of Honolulu honoring Chaplin; copy of Herbert Harley Award presented (1991) to Chaplin by the American Judicature Society.
Also includes material (1995) related to the George Chaplin Scholar-in-Residence Program at the Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange between East and West (a.k.a. East-West Center), Honolulu, Hawaii.
Dates
- Creation: 1914-1995
Creator
- Chaplin, George, 1914- (Person)
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Copyright Notice
The nature of the College of Charleston's archival holdings means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. Special Collections claims only physical ownership of most archival materials.
The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
Biographical Note
The son of Eastern European immigrants, George Chaplin was born in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1914. Chaplin discovered his talent for journalism while attending Clemson University, where he was an editor for The Clemson Tiger. After graduation (1935) Chaplin worked as a reporter (and later editor) at the Greeneville Piedmont (Greeneville, SC). He married Esta Solomon of Charleston, SC, in 1937 and had two children, Stephen and Jerri.
In 1940, Chaplin was one of twelve journalists chosen for a year-long Nieman Fellowship at Harvard, where he specialized in race relations. He entered the military in 1941 and was stationed in Hawaii during World War II. While in Hawaii, Chaplin started and served as the first editor of the mid-Pacific edition of the Stars and Stripes, the Armed Forces newspaper. After the war, he worked as managing editor for New Jersey's Camden Courier Post (1946-1947) the San Diego Journal (1948-1949) and the New Orleans Item (1949-1948).
In 1958, Chaplin returned to Hawaii and assumed the role of editor-in-chief for The Honolulu Advertiser. He retired in 1986, but continued to work for The Advertiser as editor-at-large, traveling to Asia and elsewhere to write articles for the newspaper. Over his career, Chaplin received numerous awards and held many professional positions, including President of the American Society of Newspaper Editors (1976.) George and Esta Chaplin moved back to South Carolina (Charleston) in the mid-1990s.
Extent
49 items
Language of Materials
English
Acquisitions Information
Materials donated by George Chaplin.
Subject
- Chaplin, George, 1914- (Person)
- Chaplin family (Family)
- Boyarsky family (Family)
- Tschaplinsky family (Family)
Source
- Chaplin, George, 1914- (Donor, Person)
Genre / Form
Topical
- Jewish journalists -- Hawaii -- Honolulu
- Jewish journalists -- South Carolina -- Charleston
- Newspaper editors -- Hawaii -- Honolulu
Uniform Title
- Title
- Inventory of the George Chaplin Papers, 1914-1995
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by:Special Collections staff ; finding aid created by: Special Collections staff
- Description rules
- Dacs
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Repository
Special Collections
College of Charleston Libraries
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Charleston South Carolina 29424
(843) 953-8016
(843) 953-6319 (Fax)