April 1, 2004

Longtime San Diego Columnist Neil Morgan
Donates Papers To UC San Diego Libraries

By Dolores Davies

Longtime San Diego columnist, editor, and author Neil Morgan has donated his substantial collection of manuscripts, notes, newspaper columns, and letters spanning 54 years to the Mandeville Special Collections Library at the University of California, San Diego Libraries.

Morgan, who is widely known in San Diego for his insightful columns about issues affecting San Diego and the Southern California region, has been a columnist and editor for the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Evening Tribune, and previously the San Diego Daily Journal. Morgan recently announced that his 54-year career with Copley Newspapers, publisher of the Union-Tribune, has come to an end.

“Neil Morgan, quite simply, is a San Diego icon. His remarkable collection of papers will serve as an indispensable resource on the civic and social history of San Diego, California, and the West,” said Brian E. C. Schottlaender, librarian for UCSD Libraries. “We are very honored and pleased to have them, and are certain that many scholars and researchers of San Diego and California history will benefit from them greatly in the years to come.”

According to Schottlaender, UCSD started collecting Morgan’s earlier works several years ago and already has several book manuscripts and a bundle of research notes among its acquisitions.

Jacket Cover - The California Syndrome

The newly acquired papers include notes and manuscript drafts of “Westward Tilt” and “The California Syndrome,” “Roger,” a biography of UCSD founder Roger Revelle (written with Morgan’s wife, journalist Judith Morgan); and “Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel,” a biography of the late Theodor Seuss Geisel (also coauthored with Judith Morgan); as well as six of his locally published San Diego books. There are also 24 large volumes containing every column written by Morgan since “The Neil Morgan Column” first appeared in 1948. The collection also contains a wide range of correspondence, including letters from notable authors such as Raymond Chandler and James Michener, as well as legendary T.V. anchor Walter Cronkite. Also included is a letter from Richard Nixon in response to an article written by Morgan for Esquire Magazine, as well as tapes of the interview. According to Morgan, the taped interview, which took place on a Western Airlines jet en route to Seattle by way of San Francisco, includes a rather heated exchange between himself and Nixon’s Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman, who was trying to get Morgan to deplane in San Francisco because he thought Nixon was divulging too much.

Morgan launched his first column in 1948 in the San Diego Daily Journal and then in 1950 his column appeared in the Evening Tribune. From 1977 to 1981 he served as the Tribune’s associate editor and in 1981 he became the paper’s chief editor. After the San Diego Union and the Evening Tribune merged in 1992, his column began to appear regularly in the consolidated Union-Tribune.

Over his long and productive career as a journalist, Morgan has published numerous works focusing on San Diego, California, and the West in general. His books include: “My San Diego” (1950); “It Began With a Roar” (1953); “Know Your Doctor” (1954); “Crosstown” (1955); “Westward Tilt” (1963); “Neil Morgan’s San Diego” (1964); “The Pacific States” (1967); “The California Syndrome” (1969); “Marines of the Margarita” (1970, with Robert Witty); “San Diego: The Unconventional City” (1972); “Yesterday’s San Diego” (1970, with Tom Blair); “This Great Land” (1983); “Above San Diego” (1989); “Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel (1995, with Judith Morgan); and “Roger” (1996, with Judith Morgan).

Morgan has received numerous awards for his work, including the Ernie Pyle Memorial Award (1957), the Grand Award for Travel Writing from the Pacific Area Travel Association (1972), and the Ellen and Roger Revelle Medal (1986, co-recipient with his wife, journalist Judith Morgan). In addition, in 2000 Morgan was the recipient of the Chancellor’s Medal from UCSD, given in “recognition of his commitment to a strong trans-border community and his belief in San Diego as a model 21st century city.”

Media Contact: Dolores Davies, (858) 534-5994