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Dr. William R. Gill Papers

 Collection
Identifier: 0058

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of materials relating to the creation of a museum honoring Ping Su Lu, who was executed by Japanese soldiers in World War II. Dr. Gill is a friend of Lu's daughter, and helped with publicity for the museum.

Also included are materials relating to the internment of Japanese war criminals after World War II at Sugamo Prison, such as a retrospective report on the prison, postcards describing exhibits about the prison, and various news reports on the prison and Japanese war criminals.

Additionally, one detainee, James K. Sasaki, acted as an interpreter for the American forces. He wrote about the experiences of prisoners, translated statements by prisoners, and drew pictures of some of the more infamous prisoners, such as general Tojo. Also included are materials relating to Sasaki's conviction appeal. Sugamo Prison was where many of the war criminals were detained and included is a history of the prison along with information on American Prisoners War and information on Japanese biological experiments conducted by Unit 731. Additionally, this collection contains "Soil Dynamics in Tillage and Traction" by Dr. Gill, which was written for the United States Department of Agriculture.

This collection also contains reports concerning Dr. Gill's travels through Eastern Europe (1964) and the Soviet Union (1970) to assess agricultural technology. Included are reports on farm mechanization and soil dynamics. Three additional reports provide a background on conditions in the Soviet Union during this time. Included is minutes from meetings of the US-USSR Joint Working Group on Agricultural Economic Research in 1978 and pamphlets concerning the National Tillage Machinery Laboratory.

Dates

  • 1946 - 2004

Language of Materials

Bulk of the collection is in English with a few files containing Chinese.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Biographical / Historical

Dr. William R. Gill was an agricultural engineer and research soil scientist who traveled in Eastern Europe and throughout the Soviet Union visiting various agricultural sights and was associated with the National Tillage Machinery Laboratory at Auburn University. After World War II, he aided in the prosecution of Japanese war criminals.

Extent

1.50 Cubic Feet (3 Doc boxes)

Arrangement

This finding aid is organized by accessions. Each accession represents an addition to the collection. Each accession also represents a transfer of physical and legal custody of archival materials from the donor(s) to Auburn University Special Collections and Archives.

Processing Information

Accession 00-035 processed by Laura Capell, May 3rd, 2000. Accession 04-038 processed by Javan Frazier, September 15, 2004. Accession 05-035 processed by Javan Frazier, November 10, 2005. Accession 08-014 processed by Michael K.Law, March 12, 2008. Finding aid entered into ArchivesSpace by Phyllis Simmons, 2025.

Title
Guide to the Dr. William R. Gill Papers
Subtitle
Record Group 0058
Status
Completed
Author
Laura Capell
Date
May 3, 2000
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Auburn University Special Collections and Archives Repository

Contact:
Auburn University
Ralph Brown Draughon Library
231 Mell Street
Auburn Alabama 36849
334-844-1732