Paul Douglass
American academic administrator
Paul Frederick Douglass (November 7, 1904 – August 7, 1988) was an American educator, politician, and academic administrator. He was president of American University from 1941 until 1952. His ascent to the office marked a change in the title from chancellor to president. Douglass was a graduate of Wesleyan University and received masters and doctoral degrees from the University of Cincinnati. He was also an adviser to Syngman Rhee, President of South Korea, from 1952 to 1956 and a member of the Vermont Legislature from 1933 to 1943.
Early life
Paul Frederick Douglass was born on November 7, 1904, in Corinth, New York. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wesleyan University and graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a Ph.D. in 1931.
Personal life and death
Douglass never married. He died on August 7, 1988, at Rutland Regional Medical Center in Rutland, Vermont.
The public source identifies “Paul Douglass” as american academic administrator. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Paul, Douglass and American.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Paul Douglass”, the useful work is to connect “american academic administrator” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7150338. VIAF identifies the subject as 93594964. The Library of Congress control number is n78057680. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1904, 1988, 1941 and 1952.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Paul Douglass”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Paul Douglass primary sources, Paul Douglass archive and Paul research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Paul Douglass”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Paul Douglass” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.