Ninth Archivist Allen Weinstein

The National History office is wrapping up its month-long series on stories about the former Archivists of the United States.

Archivist Portraits
Ninth Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein’s Portrait which hangs in the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. (Records of the National Archives)

Ninth Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein was nominated by President George Bush on January 24, 2005, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on February 10, 2005.

Born in New York City in 1937, Weinstein earned his bachelor’s degree from the City College of New York and his master’s degree and doctorate from Yale University.

Before coming to the National Archives, he was an author and taught history at Smith College, Georgetown University, and Boston University.

Weinstein had a number of accomplishments during his four-year tenure at the National Archives, including an increase in congressional funding, an overhaul in document classification, and an expansion of the National Archives museum program.

Building on the work of the two previous Archivists, Weinstein launched the Electronic Records Archives to store and make accessible the government’s electronic records.

Weinstein also oversaw the transfer of the private Nixon Library to the National Archives, and preparations for the George W. Bush Presidential Library in Dallas.

Citing health reasons, on December 7, 2008, Weinstein submitted his resignation to President Bush effective December 19, 2008.

Allen Weinstein died on June 18, 2015, in Maryland.

For more information on Allen Weinstein, read his biography on the National Archives History Office website.

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Archivist Allen Weinstein speaks at the press preview for the “Running for Office” exhibit in the O’Brien Gallery at the National Archives in Washington, DC, 2008. (Photo courtesy of the National Archives History Office)

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