Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
General material designation
- Graphic material
- Textual record
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Repository
Reference code
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Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
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1929 - 1990 (Creation)
Physical description area
Physical description
590 cm of textual records
ca. 150 photographs
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
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Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
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Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Henry Davies Hicks was Premier of Nova Scotia and President of Dalhousie University. He was born 5 March 1915 in Bridgetown, Nova Scotia, the son of Henry Brandon Hicks and Annie May (Kinney) Hicks. After graduating from Bridgetown High School he obtained a BA from Mount Allison University (1936) and a BSc from Dalhousie (1937). As a Rhodes Scholar he received an MA (1939) and BCL (1940) from Oxford University. In 1941 he was admitted to the Bar of Nova Scotia before joining the Royal Canadian Artillery and training as a radar specialist. He served in Canada, England and Belgium and had reached the rank of captain when he was discharged in 1945.
Hicks was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in 1945 as a Liberal for Annapolis County, and served as Nova Scotia's first Minister of Education from 1949-1954. He became premier in 1954, but was unable to unite the party, and his government was defeated in the 1956 election. From 1956-1960 he served as Leader of the Opposition. In 1960 he left politics to accept the post of Dean of Arts and Science at Dalhousie University. From 1963-1980 he served as university president, and is recognized as transforming Dalhousie from the "College By the Sea" into a leading national research university. During Hicks' tenure, the campus underwent a transformation as new facilities were built, expanded or acquired, including academic and research buildings, theatres and galleries, athletic facilities and student housing. In September 2002 the Arts and Administration Building was renamed the Henry Hicks Academic Administration Building. In 1970 Hicks was made a Companion of the Order of Canada. On 27 April 1972, he was appointed to the Senate of Canada, in which he served until his retirement in 1990.
Hicks was married to Pauline Banks in 1949 (d. 1963). In 1965 he married Gene Morrison (d. January 1988). In 1988 he married Rosalie Comeau. On the afternoon of 9 December 1990, Hicks and his wife Rosalie were returning to Halifax from the Annapolis Valley when their vehicle crossed the centre line and struck an oncoming car. Hicks and his wife were killed, along with two of the four passengers in the other vehicle.
Custodial history
Records were donated to the Dalhousie University Archives by Henry Hicks in accessions (1984-006; 1990-029; 1990-041); by Alice Moore in accession (1987-057); and by Catherine Magg in accession (1991-041).
Scope and content
Fonds comprises records documenting Henry Hicks' political career and tenure as president of Dalhousie University, as well as his personal activities and hobbies. Record types include diaries and appointment books, correspondence, manuscripts, philatelic records, newspaper clippings and photographs.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Arrangement
Arrangement imposed by archivist.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script note
English
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
There are no access restrictions on these materials. All materials are open for research.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Materials do not circulate and must be used in the Dalhousie University Archives and Special Collections Reading Room. Materials may be under copyright. Contact departmental staff for guidance on reproduction.
Finding aids
Associated materials
Related records found in Dalhousie University President's Office (UA-3) fonds.
Accruals
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Standard number
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Canada Council for the Arts. (Subject)
- Liberal Party of Canada. (Subject)
Genre access points
Control area
Sources
Description comes from the Dalhousie University Archives Catalog. The complete, original description is available there.