This endowment was established by Priscilla Bullitt Collins in honor of her father, A. Scott Bullitt.
Mr. Bullitt was born in Kentucky in 1877. He loved the Northwest and, with his wife Dorothy and their three children, made Washington State his adopted home until his death in 1932.
He had an abiding love for American history on which he read widely. His family had participated in the nation’s growth since the early seventeenth century and was related to such historic figures as Patrick Henry and Meriwether Lewis.
Mr. Bullitt studied history at Princeton under Woodrow Wilson and always was a Wilsonian Democrat. Attorney and athlete, he also was a student of Washington State history and an active leader in its politics.
He inspired young law student Warren Magnuson with an interest in public life. Throughout Senator Magnuson’s long career in politics, he always remembered Scott Bullitt as his mentor and model.
Mr. Bullitt’s friends included boxing champion Jack Dempsey, New York Governor Franklin Roosevelt, and concert tenor Roland Hayes.
This gift, along with an additional gift for naming the History and Biography Major Collection Area at the Central Library, is made to recall how important books and libraries were to her father and to honor his memory and his interest in American History.