Guide to the George R. Turner Collection, 1967-2008

Guide to the George R. Turner Collection, 1967-2008 Norwich University Archives Kreitzberg Library Norwich University 158 Harmon Drive Northfield, VT 05663 Phone: (802) 485-2947 Fax: (802) 485-2173 Email: [email protected] Summary Creator Turner, George R., 1921-2009 Title George R. Turner Collection Dates 1967-2008 Extent 1 Box (.50 linear feet) About the Collection The collection reflects George Turner’s interest in the proposed department of aerospace studies at Norwich University, ca.1967-1970, and its director, Gerald V. Bull, a well-known artillery expert and president of the Space Research Corporation in Troy, VT. Gerald Bull was also a wealthy designer and manufacturer of modern weapons of war. Dr. Bull was assassinated in 1990 in Brussels, Belgium. Due to Bull’s involvement in the experimental High Altitude Research Project (HARP), funded by McGill University and the Canadian government, Norwich’s aerospace program never became fully operational and the project was abandoned. The collection includes articles, clippings, correspondence, aerospace studies program information, photographs and George Turner’s research notes. Also included is biographical information on Gerald V. Bull and his project HARP. The collection also includes clippings and photographs related to the visit of Soviet dissident, Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008) to Norwich University in July 1975. The Nobel prize winning author had spent eleven years in prison for criticizing his country’s policies and left the Soviet Union in 1974. He visited Norwich at the request of his friend Nicholas V. Pervushin who, in 1975, was director of the summer Russian School on campus. Solzhenitsyn settled in the town of Cavendish, VT, in the fall of 1976 and remained there until his return to Russia in 1994. He and his wife, Natalya Svetlova, raised three sons in Vermont. Mrs. Solzhenitsyn visited the Norwich University Russian School in the summer of 1977 and her handwritten speech is included in the collection. George Turner took many photographs of Solzhenitsyn during his stay on campus, the most famous of which depicts the reclusive author paying a game of tennis. Photographs of Mrs. Solzhenitsyn are also included. About George R. Turner George Turner was born in Providence, RI, and was raised in Athol, MA. He served with the US Navy during both World War II and the Korean War. He joined the English faculty of Norwich University in 1959. George Turner also served as theater director, director of public relations and sports information director during his years at Norwich. He became professor emeritus of English in 1991. George’s wife, Ann Turner, served as library director at Norwich for many years. George and Ann Turner were married sixty-three years and had three children. The control file included with the collection contains additional biographical information on George R. Turner. Access Restrictions The collection is open. Preferred Citation Many items in the University Archives are one-of-a-kind resources that are not likely to be available anywhere but here. For this reason, forming citations for archival sources is a little different than for books and periodicals. If you need to cite anything from this collection, follow the format below: Identification of specific item; Date (if known); George R. Turner Collection, Box and/or Folder and/or Item Identification; Norwich University Archives, Kreitzberg Library, Northfield, VT. Here’s an example from the collection: Letter from Gerald V. Bull to Barksdale Hamlett, 23 December 1969. George R. Turner Collection on the Aerospace Studies Program at Norwich University, Correspondence file, Norwich University Archives, Kreitzberg Library, Northfield, VT. Additional Information Extent: 1 Box (.50 linear feet) Collection Location: Archives 501 Language(s) of Material: English Repository: Norwich University Archives, Kreitzberg Library, 158 Harmon Dr., Northfield, VT 05663 USA, Phone: 802.485.2947, Fax: 802.485.2173, [email protected] .

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