Harry Todd Costello papers

Collection

Identifier: TCA-2016-007

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Harry Todd Costello papers is a small collection containing lecture notes, essays, syllabi, correspondence, and diaries documenting Costello's career as an instructor of philosophy and psychology primarily while at Trinity College (Hartford, Connecticut), but also from his time as a student or instructor at Columbia, Harvard, and Yale. In addition, the collection includes materials related to the Trinity College library, as well as some biographical material and a small amount of personal effects from Costello's apartment at Trinity.

Dates

Creation: 1894 - 1960

Conditions Governing Use

Digital surrogates may be provided in accordance with the duplication policy of the Watkinson Library.

Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs unless otherwise specified. It is the researcher's responsibility to secure permission to publish materials from the appropriate copyright holder.

Archival materials may contain sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal and/or state right to privacy laws or other regulations. While we make a good faith effort to identify and remove such materials, some may be missed during our processing. If a researcher finds sensitive personal information (e.g. social security numbers) in a collection, please bring it to the attention of the reading room staff.

Biographical / Historical

Harry Todd Costello was born in Richmond, Indiana on November 1, 1885. He earned a B.A. from Earlham College in 1908, and both an M.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard in 1910 and 1911, respectively. Costello served for thirty-six years as the Brownell Professor of Philosophy at Trinity College (Hartford, Connecticut) from 1920 until his retirement in June 1956.

Costello studied under Josiah Royce and Bertrand Russell while at Harvard and under Henri Bergson as the Sheldon Travelling Fellow at the University of Paris in 1911-1912. After receiving his Ph.D. he taught at Harvard (1912-1914), Yale (1914-1915), and Barnard College of Columbia University (1915-1920). He is the author of A Philosophy of the Real and Possible, published in 1954 and based on his 1952 Woodbridge Lectures at Columbia.

Costello, affectionately known first as "Joe Phil" and later as "Butch" at Trinity College, died suddenly in Hartford on January 25, 1960. A long-time member of the Faculty Library Committee and an active participant in helping to maintain the College's library collection, upon his death, Costello's personal reference library of close to one thousand reference books were bequeathed to the College. In addition, Costello left a gift of $8,000 for the purchase of philosophy books, which was addeded to the Harry T. Costello Philosophy Book Fund, created in his honor by former colleagues, students, and friends upon his retirement in 1956.

Extent

2.22 Cubic Feet (2 records storage cartons and 1 letter size clamshell box) ; 1 box (16.25 in. x 13 in. x 10.5 in.) equals 1 cubic foot ("cubic foot" defined in SAA Dictionary); 1 letter clamshell box (12.25 x 3 x 10.25) equals .22 cubic feet (UNLV Archives Calculator)