Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1938 - 1996 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
156 cm of textual records
35 photographs
3 etchings
5 scrapbook
1 diary
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Derwyn Randolph Grier Owen, Anglican clergyman and administrator, was born on 16 May 1914, the son of Derwyn Owen and Nora Grier Jellet. He attended Ridley College in St. Catharine's from 1928 to 1932 and then Trinity College, where he took honours in Classics, graduating with a BA and the Governor General's Medal in 1936. He studied next at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, 1936-1938, and the Union Theological Seminary, New York, 1940-1941. He was ordained deacon in 1941 and priest in 1942 and completed his PhD in philosophy at the University of Toronto the same year, while teaching at Trinity College. In 1942 he enlisted in the Canadian army and served as chaplain in the Westminster Regiment, 5th Division, on campaigns in Italy and Holland. He returned to Canada in 1946 and resumed his post as lecturer and head of the Department of Religious Knowledge at Trinity. In 1957 he was elected Provost of Trinity College and served in that capacity until 1971 when he resigned to continue teaching. He served as Professor of Religious Studies until his retirement in 1979. Owen published several books, including Scientism, Man and Religion (1952), Body and Soul (1956), Social Thought and Anglican Theology (1980), and Trinity College: Past, Present and Future (1964).
Derwyn Owen married Anne Kathleen Armour in 1942 and they had three children: Laurie, David, and Timothy. He died on 23 April 1997 in Toronto, Ontario.
Repository
Archival history
The fonds was received in five accessions.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Some material was given by Dr. Owen during his lifetime; the rest was given by his estate and family after his death.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Fonds contains records of Derwyn Owen’s career as a scholar, including subject notes, lecture notes, thesis materials, manuscripts, reading lists, and class lists from Owen’s time as a fellow and lecturer at Trinity College as well as correspondence and reviews relating to his published works. Files also include personal correspondence, primarily with Anne Armour (later Mrs Owen), diaries, passports, and personal and professional certificates. Also included are pamphlets, programmes, letters, official papers, newspaper clippings, speeches, and other documents from his tenure as Provost of Trinity College (1957-1971).
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
None expected
System of arrangement
Materials have been arranged by the archivist in chronological order within each series
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Open
Conditions governing reproduction
Various copyright holders. It is the researcher's responsibility to obtain permission to publish any part of the fonds.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Uploaded finding aid
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Dates of creation revision deletion
2016