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Historical Note
Scope and Content Note
Organization and Arrangement
Restrictions
Index Terms
Related Material
Administrative Information
Series Description
Cambodia, 1958-1962, 1971-2002, n.d.
International relations and finance, 1964-1999,
n.d.
"Khting Vor", 1966-2003, n.d.
Personal papers, 1953-2003
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Collection Summary
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| Title |
Richard A. Melville papers |
| Creator |
Melville, Richard A., 1932-2005 |
| Dates |
1953-2003, n.d. |
| Extent |
4 linear feet |
| Collection ID |
MC059 |
| Abstract |
Richard A. Melville (1932-2005) served in Laos and Cambodia
from 1959-1963 as a U.S State Department Foreign Service officer.
He later pursued a career in international banking and finance,
serving as President and CEO of Allied Bank International in New
York and consulting with the United Nations Development Programme
in China. He was the principal author of the International Banking
Act (1978) and from 1979 to 1998, served as the personal financial
advisor to Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia. The collection is
comprised of correspondence, scrapbooks, photographs, press
clippings, publications, and typescripts related to his work, as
well as his efforts to preserve Cambodian antiquities and his
research about the Khting Vor, a mythical bovine thought to inhabit
Cambodia and Vietnam which he helped to debunk as a hoax. Of
particular interest are several albums of photographs Melville took
while a Foreign Service officer of Cambodian hill tribes and hunts
and material documenting his long relationship with Norodum
Sihanouk as both friend and advisor. |
| Repository |
Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library,
Bates College |
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Historical Note
Richard A. Melville was born in September 15, 1932 in
Massachusetts. He graduated from Bates College in 1954 and received
an M.A. from the School of Advanced International Studies at The
Johns Hopkins University. He married Maria-Angela Garcia-Martinez
and had three children, Thomas, Andrew, and Charles.
From 1959 to 1963 Melville served as a U.S State Department
Foreign Service officer in Laos and Cambodia. Melville then began a
career in international banking, working first for Irving Trust
Company and later becoming the President and CEO of Allied Bank
International in New York. He was the principal author and a major
advocate of the International Banking Act which was passed by
Congress in 1978. From 1979 to 1998, he served as the personal
financial advisor to Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia. In 1991
to 1998, he operated an investment consulting firm in Hong Kong. He
also served as an advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Trade of the
People's Republic of China and helped to bring "capitalism with a
socialist face" to mainland China.
Many years after living in Cambodia, Melville published
"Northeast Forest: Field Notes on the Hilltribes and Fauna of
Cambodia, 1959-1962." He was also interested in cryptozoology, the
study of legendary, sometimes mythical, animal species, and used
his first hand knowledge of Cambodian wildlife to demystify the
"khting vor," a purported snake-eating cow residing in Cambodia and
Vietnam.
Melville was active in many organizations. As a volunteer with
the Asia Society, he fought to protect Cambodia's Angkor Wat temple
complex from U.S. bombs during the Vietnam War. From 1976 to 1989,
he served as a Trustee of Bates College. At Johns Hopkins, he was a
trustee of both the University and the hospital, and served on the
advisory council of the School of Advanced International Studies.
He also was a trustee of the Tuxedo Park School, president of the
board of Round Top Center for the Arts, and president of the
Friends of Pemaquid Light. He was a member of the Council on
Foreign Relations, the Economic Club of New York, and the Newcomen
Society. He died January 1, 2005 in Bristol, Maine.
Return to the Table of Contents
Scope and Content
Note
The collection is comprised of correspondence, scrapbooks,
photographs, press clippings, publications, and typescripts related
to Melville's work in international relations and finance, his long
and multifaceted relationship with Cambodia, and his interest in
the Khting Vor, a mythical bovine thought to inhabit Cambodia and
Vietnam which he helped to debunk as a hoax. There is material
related to Melville's time in the Foreign Service, including
several photo albums of his work with the hill tribes and of his
hunting trips; many of these images were published by Melville in
his 2000 book "A Northeast Forest." The collection also includes
material documenting his long relationship with Norodum Sihanouk as
both friend and advisor, and material on Melville's work to protect
Cambodian antiquities.
The Personal series includes correspondence with family and
friends, including many letters about Agora, a proposed literary
magazine that never came to fruition. Melville, working with two
partners, William Watt and Boylston Adams Hinds, secured the
backing of such literary luminaries as Ezra Pound, Louis Mumford,
Wallace Fowlie, and Caresse Crosby to serve on the editorial board
and contribute articles to this venture. This series also contains
documentation of Melville's philanthropic and volunteer endeavors,
including his work on the board of Bates College and of The Johns
Hopkins University.
Return to the Table of Contents
Organization and
Arrangement
The collection is divided into four series: I. Cambodia; II.
International relations and finance; III. "Khting Vor"; and IV.
Personal papers.
All series are in alphabetical order.
Return to the Table of Contents
Restrictions
Access Restrictions
Material in the Personal series may
only be consulted with the permission of Carlos Melville. Please
contact the Director for additional information.
Confidential memos and resumes in
Melville's files on the United Nations Development Programme in
China are restricted. Please contact the Director for additional
information.
Use Restrictions
The collection is the physical property
of Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library. Bates
College holds literary rights only for material created by College
personnel working on official behalf of the College, or for
material which was given to the College with such rights
specifically assigned. For all other material, literary rights,
including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and
assigns. Researchers are responsible for obtaining permission from
rights holders for publication or other purposes that exceed fair
use.
Return to the Table of Contents
Related
Material
Return to the Table of Contents
Index Terms
These records are indexed under the following headings in the
Bates College Library catalog. Researchers wishing to find related
materials should search the catalog under these index terms.
Personal Names:
Melville, Richard A.,
1932-2005--Archives
Norodom Sihanouk, Prince,
1922-
Corporate Names:
Allied Bank International
United Nations Development Programme
(China)
United States. Foreign Service
Topical Subjects:
Banks and banking,
International
Diplomatic and consular service,
American
International finance
International relations
Geographic Subjects:
Cambodia--Antiquities
Return to the Table of Contents
Administrative
Information
Acquisition and Custody Information
Gift of Richard A. Melville, 2003.
Accession No.: 058-03-01.
Preferred Citation
Richard A. Melville papers, Edmund S.
Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library, Bates College.
Processing Information
Initial arrangement by Chris Beam.
Final arrangement and description by
Kat Stefko, 2006.
Return to the Table of Contents
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MC059/01:
Cambodia, 1958-1962, 1971-2002, n.d.
1 linear foot |
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Scope and Content Note |
|
Material in this series documents Melville's
enduring and multifaceted devotion to Cambodia, particularly his
work as a Foreign Service officer of the U. S. State Department,
his work with the Asia Society to preserve Angkor Wat and other
Cambodian antiquities, and his role as friend and financial advisor
to Norodom Sihanouk. The journal Melville kept while living in
Cambodia was severely damaged in a house fire and is restricted
until 2015. |
|
Organization and Arrangement |
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Organized into three subseries. |
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Access Restrictions |
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The journal Melville kept while living in Cambodia
is restricted until 2015. |
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MC059/01.01: Foreign Service,
1958-1962, n.d.
.5 linear feet |
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Scope and Content Note |
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This subseries documents Melville's work as an
advisor to the U.S. government on the tribes of Cambodia and Laos
as a Foreign Service officer of the State Department. Melville was
stationed in Phnom Penh, Cambodia from 1959 to 1963 and spent
approximately one year of that period in Laos. His job required
frequent travel in northeast Cambodia and northern Laos where he
lived among the mountain tribes. He also took numerous hunting
trips, typically on elephant-back in these regions. The subseries
includes photo albums of the people, places, flora, and animals
that he encountered on these trips, as well as State Department
correspondence, and social invitations. Some of his photographs and
field notes were published in "A Northeast Forest" (2000). |
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Organization and Arrangement |
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Alphabetical. |
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Access Restrictions |
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The journal Melville kept while living in Cambodia
is restricted until 2015. |
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MC059/01.02: Sihanouk, 1971-2002,
n.d.
.25 linear feet |
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Scope and Content Note |
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This subseries of correspondence, photographs,
ephemera, and other material documents Melville's long professional
and personal relationship with Norodom Sihanouk. Shihanouk served
as the first king of decolonized Cambodia until 1955, when he
abdicated to his father in order to run in the independent
country's first elections. From 1955 to 1970, he served as prime
minister until he was ousted in a coup lead by General Lon Nol.
Sihanouk was then recruited by the Khmer Rouge as its titular head.
In 1975, after living in exile for 5 years, he returned to Phnom
Penh, where Pol Pot, the actual leader of the Khmer Rouge, placed
him under house arrest in the Royal Palace. Following the
Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in December 1978 and subsequent
ousting of the Khmer Rouge, Sihanouk headed one of three major
resistance groups to the Vietnamese-backed Phnom Penh government.
When these three groups merged in 1981, Sihanouk became president
of the National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful
and Cooperative Cambodia. Sihanouk's coalition was recognized by
much of the international community as the rightful government of
Cambodia and, as such, occupied a seat at the United Nations.
However, the Phnom Penh government effectively controlled the
country. Sihanouk began peace talks with this government in 1987,
and a formal ceasefire followed in 1991 with the Paris Peace
Agreements. Sihanouk was then named chairman of the Supreme
National Council which served as an interim government until
official elections were held in May 1993. Sihanouk was then
reinstated as King of Cambodia. |
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Melville, on behalf of the Asia Society, was
instrumental in bringing Cambodian Prime Minister Sirik Matak to
the United States in 1971. This visit was widely publicized in the
Cambodian press, and brought Melville's name to the attention of
Sihanouk. When Sihanouk came to the United States for the first
time in February 1980 to plead for international assistance for
Cambodia, he insisted on meeting Melville. There began a long
relationship as friend and advisor to Sihanouk. The collection
includes extensive correspondence between Melville and Sihanouk,
much of which is in French. The subseries also contains many
photographs, including several of Melville and his wife being
received as the first foreign guests at the Royal Palace in Phnom
Penh upon Sihanouk's return in 1991. |
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Organization and Arrangement |
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Alphabetical. |
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MC059/01.03: Cultural preservation
efforts, 1970-2002, n.d.
.25 linear feet |
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Scope and Content Note |
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This series includes correspondence, typescripts,
photographs, and ephemera documenting Richard Melville's varied
efforts to preserve and protect Cambodian antiquities during the
country's complex existence in the late 20th century. Melville
played a particularly important role in protecting the Angkor Wat
temple complex from U.S. bombing during the Vietnam War. The
subseries includes a final version and various drafts of Melville's
"Angkor: A Progress Report," published in 1971 by the Asia Society
and based upon his firsthand observations during a trip to
Cambodia, which called attention to this need. Also included is
extensive correspondence with the Asia Society. |
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Organization and Arrangement |
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Alphabetical. |
MC059/02:
International relations and finance, 1964-1999, n.d.
2 linear feet |
|
Scope and Content Note |
|
This series documents Melville's work in
international relations and finance as both a banking executive and
consultant. There is significant information about Melville's
13-year career at Allied Bank International, from his appointment
as a Vice President in 1970 to his departure as President and Chief
Executive Officer in 1983 following the collapse of several large
loans to Latin American countries. Of significant note is material,
including correspondence and photographs, related to the first
visit to the United States by the Chairman of the Bank of China, Pu
Ming, in 1980. At this time, the Bank of China was the only
authorized bank to do foreign business with the United States, and
Allied Bank International its only United States correspondent
bank. The visit is significant because it marked the opening of
US-China trade relations on a large scale. There is also material
related to Melville's participation as an Allied Bank delegate to
China in 1972 and 1980, which preceded Pu Ming's visit. |
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The series includes material documenting
Melville's work at Melville Associates. Most notably are several
files, including correspondence, reports, clippings and other
material, documenting Melville's role as Senior International
Advisor to the United Nation Development Programme's $6 million
dollar project to help large and medium-sized Chinese state-owned
businesses transition from a command to a free-market economy. The
series also includes a small amount of material related to
Melville's work at Irving Trust Company, Philadelphia International
Bank, and Train, Smith Counsel. Also included is material related
to Melville's work on and advocacy for the International Banking
Act of 1978, including the transcript of his testimony before
Congress. This act greatly expanded the capability of foreign banks
to do business in the United States. |
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Organization and Arrangement |
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Alphabetical. |
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Access Restrictions |
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The confidential memos and resumes found in
Melville's files on the United Nations Development Programme are
restricted. Please consult the Director for additional
information. |
MC059/03:
"Khting Vor", 1966-2003, n.d.
.5 linear feet |
|
Scope and Content Note |
|
This series documents Melville's research and
writing about the Khting Vor, a snake-eating bovine purported to
inhabit Cambodia and Vietnam, which Melville helped to debunk as a
hoax. The series includes correspondence with many prominent
wildlife experts including Arnoult Seveau, Robert Timm, Hunter
Weiler, and Colin Poole; typescripts of Melville's article on the
Khting Vor which was published in the Journal of Zoology of London;
and Melville's research notes, including many related to his
extensive study of the work of Harold Jefferson Coolidge, Jr.
conducted at Harvard. |
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Organization and Arrangement |
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Alphabetical. |
MC059/04:
Personal papers, 1953-2003
1 linear foot |
|
Scope and Content Note |
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This series documents Melville's philanthropic and
volunteer work, as well as aspects of his personal life. There is
documentation about his membership on the board of Bates College
and of The Johns Hopkins University and his role as donor to and
Advisory Council member of the School for Advanced International
Studies. The series also includes personal correspondence with
family and friends, including a significant number of letters with
June Allan and William Watt about Agora, a proposed literary
magazine that never came to fruition. Watt, along with Melville and
Boylston Adams Hinds, had convinced Ezra Pound, Louis Mumford,
Wallace Fowlie, and Caresse Crosby to serve on the editorial board
and contribute articles. |
|
Personal correspondence related to Agora magazine
and family letters from the 1950s were severely damaged in a house
fire and are restricted until 2015. For material related to
Melville's volunteer work with the Asia Society, See the Cultural
Preservation subseries of the Cambodia series. |
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Organization and Arrangement |
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Alphabetical. |
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Access Restrictions |
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Material in this series may only be consulted with
the permission of Carlos Melville. For more information, please
consult the Director. |
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