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Giovanni and Amne Costigan papers, 1818-1990

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Costigan, Giovanni, 1905-1990
Title
Giovanni and Amne Costigan papers
Dates
1818-1990 (inclusive)
approximately 1930-1990 (bulk)
Quantity
104.57 cubic feet (100 boxes)
Collection Number
4338
Summary
Papers of a history professor at the University of Washington, staunch defender of human rights, and leader in the peace movement
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Open to all users, but access to portions of the papers restricted. Contact the Special Collections for details.

Some records stored off-site; advance notice required for use.

Request at UW

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Biographical Note

Giovanni Marie Denis George Costigan was a history professor at the University of Washington, a staunch defender of human rights, and a leader in the peace movement.

He was born February 15, 1905 in England. His father was a poor Irish Catholic peasant farmer, the youngest child of 12, who married the daughter of his wealthy Anglo-Irish landlord. Costigan’s mother was the youngest daughter of a Protestant family, the Warrens, that had lived in Ireland for 300 years. Costigan’s parents eloped to England and settled in Brighton, assuming a middle-class life style. Giovanni was the youngest of their three children. Giovanni’s father died when he was 11. Costigan was educated at a Catholic boarding school in Sussex and at Oxford University. At the age of 22 he came to the U.S. for graduate study at the University of Wisconsin. After completing his doctorate in history in 1930, he spent the next four years teaching at the University of Idaho’s southern branch in Pocatello. While there he met and, in 1931, married Amne Johnson. During World War II Costigan served as an information officer in the U.S. Air Corps. He taught Irish and English history at the University of Washington beginning in 1934, became a full professor in 1948 and retired in 1975. In retirement, he continued to lecture and was a popular speaker until his death in 1990. Amne Costigan died in 1995.

A staunch defender of human rights and leader in the peace movement, Costigan was an outspoken critic of the Vietnam war and U.S. involvement in Central America. His books include Sir Robert Wilson: A Soldier of Fortune in the Napoleonic Wars , Sigmund Freud: A Short Biography , Makers of Modern England: The Force of Individual Genius in History and History of Modern Ireland: With a Sketch of Earlier Times.

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Content Description

The Giovanni Costigan papers span most of Giovanni’s life and include correspondence, notes, writings, diaries, clippings, photographs, pamphlets and publications, subject files, and audio and video recordings of lectures. The collection also include papers of his wife, Amne, who survived him, and some papers of both Giovanni and Amne’s ancestors.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact the Special Collections for details.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Organized into 3 accessions.

  • Accession No. 4338-001, Giovanni and Amne Costigan papers, 1818-1990
  • Accession No. 4338-002, Giovanni Costigan papers, ca. 1960-1990
  • Accession No. 4338-003, Giovanni Costigan Lectures, 1975-1989

Preservation Note

Some records stored off-site; advance notice required for use.

Related Materials

Also in the Repository: Photographs of Giovanni Costigan (PH Coll 1348)

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • College teachers--Washington (State)--Seattle--Archives
  • History teachers--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • History--Study and teaching (Higher)
  • History--Study and teaching (Higher)--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • University Archives/Faculty Papers (University of Washington)

Personal Names

  • Costigan, Amne--Archives
  • Costigan, Giovanni, 1905-1990--Archives

Corporate Names

  • University of Idaho. Southern Branch
  • University of Washington. University Archives

Geographical Names

  • England--Relations--Study and teaching--Ireland
  • Ireland--Relations--Study and teaching--England
  • Seattle (Wash.)--Intellectual life--20th century

Occupations

  • Political activists


2007 (Last modified: 8/3/2023)

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