Journeys of Notable Princeton Explorers

Journeys Notable Princeton Explorers
The Princeton University library has about 400 passports in its collection, an astonishing high number. Here are a few favorites in the manuscripts division.

Richard Halliburton, a member of the Princeton Class of 1921, harbored aspirations of securing a legacy as the most extensively traveled individual in history. His endeavors captivated a global audience, positioning him as a distinguished voyager, author, and orator. Emblematic of his wanderlust, a passport issued in June 1934, spanning the period of 1934–35, chronicles his sojourns across 11 countries, spanning from France to Russia, Ethiopia to Egypt, and Turkey, even encompassing a voyage aboard the Polish-Palestinian Line. Journeys Notable Princeton Explorers

Moe Berg, a distinguished Princeton alumnus from the Class of ’23, not only excelled as a star athlete during his time at the university but also embarked on a remarkable journey spanning fifteen years as a professional baseball player in the major leagues. Beyond his athletic prowess, Berg possessed an extraordinary linguistic aptitude, fluent in half a dozen languages.

His contributions extended far beyond the realm of sports, particularly during World War II, where he lent his talents to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor to the CIA. Post-war, Berg continued his service, engaging in at least one mission with the CIA.

His passport from February 1952 shows his travels through places like London, Switzerland, and the Rhine-Main military air base in Germany. Journeys Notable Princeton Explorers

Sylvia Beach was born in Princeton and moved to Paris to start Shakespeare and Company, a famous English-language bookshop. It became a vibrant hub, drawing in prominent authors of the Lost Generation during the 1920s and 1930s. Among the treasures within the extensive Sylvia Beach Papers is her passport from April 1929, a document that attests to her global ventures. From her Parisian base, she embarked on recurrent sojourns to the Isle of Jersey and Saint-Malo, a picturesque coastal retreat nestled in Brittany, in the northwest of France. Journeys Notable Princeton Explorers

Read the full article at https://paw.princeton.edu/article/where-they-went-famous-princeton-travelers

Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. 

Tom Topol | Passport History Expert & Author.
Featured in media incl. CNN, BBC, Newsweek. Awarded by the U.S. Department of State.
"Want to go deeper? My book Let Pass or Die covers the full 400-year history"

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