Dr. Daniel Thomas Williams (1932-2010), was the University Archivist at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in Tuskegee, Alabama from 1968-1999. A native of Miami, Florida, Dr. Williams was the son of Willie Mae and Daniel T. Williams, Sr.
Dr. Williams completed his undergraduate education in 1956 at West Virginia State College (now West Virginia State University) in Institute, West Virginia. In 1957, Dr. Williams received his M.L.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and was hired the same year by Tuskegee where he worked first as a serials librarian, then as director of the university's professional libraries, and finally, in 1968 as the university's archivist. In 1969, Dr. Williams received a certificate in archival administration from American University.
Dr. Williams was part of the U.S. Delegation of the World Congress on Archives which met in Moscow, Russia in 1972. Dr. Williams further his education at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama where he earned his PhD. in Education in 1987.
In 1989, Dr. Williams was honored by the Academy of Certified Archivists and named a fellow by the Society of American Archivists in 1992. He was also the curator for Tuskegee's Daniel James Memorial Hall.
In 1994 and again in 1997, Dr. Williams discussed Tuskegee University's history on C-SPAN2. Video recordings of both sessions are available at:
Dan Williams, Archivist, Tuskegee University
https://www.c-span.org/person/?danwilliams
Dr. Williams remained at Tuskegee University until his retirement in 1999. He passed away on June 24, 2010 in Hollywood, Florida.
Sources: Shockley, Ann Allen. "Librarians, Archivists, and Writers: A Personal Perspective." The Black Librarian in America Revisited. Ed. E.J. Josey. Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1994. 320, 322. Print. ; "Former TU Archivist Dr. Daniel Williams Dies." The Tuskegee News (Online Edition) 8 July 2010. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. ; The Black Librarian in the Southeast: Reminiscences, Activities, Challenges. Ed. Annette L. Phinazee. Durham: NCCU School of Library of Science, 1980. 24, 29, 192-193. Print. ; Fields, Dorothy Jenkins. "Remembering Two Colleagues Who Made History." Miami Herald 24 Feb. 2011. Web, 27 Feb 2011. ; "Dan Williams - SAA Fellow." African-American and Third World Archivists Roundtable Newsletter 6.2 (1992): 1, 4. Print. ; "Another Honor for the Peanut Man: Botanist George Washington Carver Named to the Hall of Fame for Great Americans." Ebony 32.9 (1977): 103. Print. ; "People." Jet 83.2 (1992): 20. Print.
