Archibald Hanna
I would like to nominate Archibald Hanna for induction into Branford’s Education Hall of Fame. He was a historian, writer, along time curator of rare books at Yale University. He was a deacon in the Trinity Episcopal Church, where his influence as a model of goodness and academic achievement was celebrated. He was a writer of distinction during his 50 years as a resident of Branford. If you had the opportunity to talk with Archie, you emerged from the conversation wiser, more knowledgeable and owning a better perspective about life and what it was to be a good human being. He was above all, a teacher of great magnitude.
An academically gifted individual, Archibald Hanna received a B.A. Degree from Clark University in 1939, and an M.A. Degree from Yale in 1946. In 1949 he received an M.S. Degree from Columbia University, and in 1951 a Ph. D. Degree from Yale. He joined the staff of the Yale University Library in 1949, and in 1952 was appointed Research Associate in the Yale History Department in 1960. He retired from the University in 1981. During World War II he served in the United States Marine Corps from 1942-1946 as a Japanese Language Officer in the Central Pacific. He left the service as a First Lieutenant, but remained active in the Marine Corps Reserve, retiring in 1969 with the rank of Colonel.
in 1952
In June 1961 he was ordained as a Perpetual Deacon in the Episcopal Church, and served in that capacity at Trinity Church in Branford until 2005.
An author of great repute, he published his acclaimed Bibliography of John Buchan. In 1970 his Brief History of the Thimble Islands was published, and in 1985 he wrote, A Mirror for the Nation, a bibliography of early 20th century American Social Fiction. Hanna was an Honorary Trustee of the Yale Library Associates, and a member of the American Antiquarian Society, the Club of Odd Volumes, and the St. Botolph Club.
When he passed away in 2010, Martha Link Walsh described Archibald as “a true genius, but one who was in touch with his fellow man...one with gentleness, kindness, and humility. He was a rare individual and we were all lucky to have known him.” Former Branford resident Peter Dzwonkoski wrote about him, “I knew Archie when I worked in the Beinecke's Collection of American Literature back in the 1970s, his office was two doors down from mine. He was a very nice man--affable, humorous, every inch a gentleman in his western string neckties.”
An academically gifted individual, Archibald Hanna received a B.A. Degree from Clark University in 1939, and an M.A. Degree from Yale in 1946. In 1949 he received an M.S. Degree from Columbia University, and in 1951 a Ph. D. Degree from Yale. He joined the staff of the Yale University Library in 1949, and in 1952 was appointed Research Associate in the Yale History Department in 1960. He retired from the University in 1981. During World War II he served in the United States Marine Corps from 1942-1946 as a Japanese Language Officer in the Central Pacific. He left the service as a First Lieutenant, but remained active in the Marine Corps Reserve, retiring in 1969 with the rank of Colonel.
in 1952
In June 1961 he was ordained as a Perpetual Deacon in the Episcopal Church, and served in that capacity at Trinity Church in Branford until 2005.
An author of great repute, he published his acclaimed Bibliography of John Buchan. In 1970 his Brief History of the Thimble Islands was published, and in 1985 he wrote, A Mirror for the Nation, a bibliography of early 20th century American Social Fiction. Hanna was an Honorary Trustee of the Yale Library Associates, and a member of the American Antiquarian Society, the Club of Odd Volumes, and the St. Botolph Club.
When he passed away in 2010, Martha Link Walsh described Archibald as “a true genius, but one who was in touch with his fellow man...one with gentleness, kindness, and humility. He was a rare individual and we were all lucky to have known him.” Former Branford resident Peter Dzwonkoski wrote about him, “I knew Archie when I worked in the Beinecke's Collection of American Literature back in the 1970s, his office was two doors down from mine. He was a very nice man--affable, humorous, every inch a gentleman in his western string neckties.”