Gavin Arthur
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Chester Alan "Gavin" Arthur III (March 21, 1901 – April 28, 1972) was an American
Arthur founded Dune Forum, a short-lived cultural magazine aimed to spread alternating religious and political ideologies. After his father's death, he inherited various official documents, including newspapers during the time of his grandfather's presidency and presidential memento. In the 1950s, due to financial instability, Arthur sold newspapers on the streets of San Francisco. In the 1960s, he published The Circle of Sex, where he claimed that he had developed sexual intimacy with Edward Carpenter. He also claimed that Carpenter had had sexual relations with American author Walt Whitman. Arthur died in 1972; he was the last living descendant of the Arthur family. Most of his papers and official documents were donated to the Library of Congress.
Early life and education
Chester Alan Arthur III was born in
Career
Early career
After leaving college, Arthur worked in the
In 1934, Arthur joined the Utopian Society of America.[1] Between 1936 and 1937, he wrote six articles published in Labor Defender and he served as an editor with Langston Hughes. Upon his father's death in 1937, all of Arthur II's financial assets were distributed equally between his son Gavin and his wife. He inherited various receipts, bills, checkbooks, presidential mementos, newspaper clippings from his grandfather's presidency, and correspondence letters from politicians such as Ulysses S. Grant, James A. Garfield, Millard Fillmore, James G. Blaine, among others. He received typed copies of various important documents.[12] Arthur served as secretary of the California Democratic Party in 1940, during the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, but resigned the following year, convinced that the party had betrayed his principles.[1][13] During World War II, Arthur served in the United States Army and the Merchant navy.[1]
After the war, Arthur moved to New York and undertook the writing of a family history, which was never completed.
The Circle of Sex
A sexologist by profession,[15] Arthur published The Circle of Sex in 1962 that analyzed human sexuality through the lens of yin-yang polarities. Rather than the linear scale developed by Alfred Kinsey, Arthur envisioned sexuality as a wheel with twelve orientations, six for each sex.[16] The twelve types corresponded to the 12-hours dial clock and Arthur illustrated each with a historical archetype, like Don Juan, Sappho, and Lady C.[16] In 1966, he published an enlarged edition of the same title. In that edition, he claimed that on his first visit with Carpenter, they both developed a sexual intimacy.[5][17] Carpenter later told him that he had been sexual with American author Walt Whitman as well.[5] Arthur, bisexual himself,[15] was said to have been intimate with Neal Cassady as well.[18]
Astrology and later career
Arthur was friend to many people of the
Personal life and death
Arthur was married three times in his life. In 1922, he married Charlotte Joy Johnson, divorcing her in 1932. Three years later, he wed Esther Murphy Strachey, whom he divorced in 1961. His final marriage, to Ellen Jansen, took place in 1965.[1]
Arthur died on April 28, 1972, at the Fort Miley Veterans Hospital in San Francisco.[14] He is buried at the Albany Rural Cemetery.[22] Having no children of his own, he was the last living descendant of his grandfather, President Chester A. Arthur. His papers, including many family papers, were given to the Library of Congress soon after his death.[23] Philip Avillo wrote that "Throughout his life, Arthur cultivated a wide variety of people, including political leaders, writers, entertainers, sexologists, and social misfits and outcasts."[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Avillo 2011, pp. 3–5.
- ^ Summers 2021.
- ^ Fackenthal 1932, p. 27.
- ^ Columbia Spectator 1921, p. 1.
- ^ a b c Murray 2005, p. 194.
- ^ NRHP.
- ^ O'Pray 1996, p. 57.
- ^ Time 1934.
- ^ Hart 2017, p. 158.
- ^ Hart 2017, pp. 153–154.
- ^ a b Hart 2017, p. 164.
- ^ a b Reeves 1972, p. 313.
- ^ a b c The New York Times 1972, p. 67.
- ^ a b c San Mateo County Times 1972, p. 7.
- ^ a b c d Lipsky 2017.
- ^ a b Meyer 2000, pp. 44–49.
- ^ Christy 2007, p. D4.
- ^ a b Morgan 2006, p. 294.
- ^ Goldberg 2017.
- ^ Hart 2017, p. 156.
- ^ Argus-Courier 1972, p. 5.
- ^ Hallenbeck 2022, p. A1.
- ^ Reeves 1972, p. 319.
Works cited
- "Chester A. Arthur". )
- Avillo, Philip, ed. (2011). "Arthur Family Papers" (PDF). LCCN mm76049577. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
- Christy, J. (2007). "He's Still the Man; A New Life of Allen Ginsberg Gets the Cherished Yet Underrated Beat Figure Exactly Right Capturing the Creative, Nurturing Soul he Remained Despite Being the Most Accessible Famous Writer Ever, Says One Who Was There, Biography". )
- "Philolexian Literary Society". Columbia Spectator. Vol. XLIV, no. 139. May 6, 1921. p. 1. Retrieved March 8, 2022 – via Columbia University Libraries
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: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - Fackenthal, F. Diehl, ed. (1932). Columbia University Alumni Register, 1754–1931. Columbia University Press. Retrieved March 8, 2022 – via HathiTrust
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: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - Goldberg, Danny (January 13, 2017). "All the Human Be-In Was Saying 50 Years Ago, Was Give Peace a Chance". The Nation. Retrieved March 13, 2022
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: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - Hart, Amy (2017). "The Gods of the Dunes: The Diverse Spiritual Practices and Beliefs of the Dunites". Communal Societies. 37 (2): 153–170. )
- Hallenbeck, Brent (February 21, 2022). "A Look at VT's Other President: Chester Alan Arthur Served as 21st President". )
- Lipsky, Bill (2017). "Gavin Arthur and the Summer of Love". San Francisco Bay Times. Retrieved March 13, 2022
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: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - Meyer, Michael (2000) [1976]. The Astrology of Relationship: A Humanistic Approach to the Practice of Synastry. iUniverse. pp. 44–49. .
- Morgan, Bill (2006). I Celebrate Myself: The Somewhat Private Life of Allen Ginsberg. Penguin. p. 294. .
- Murray, Martin (2005). "Walt Whitman, Edward Carpenter, Gavin Arthur, and The Circle of Sex". Walt Whitman Quarterly Review. 22 (4). ISSN 0737-0679. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
- "Colorado – El Paso County". National Register of Historic Places. Archived from the original on June 1, 2013. Retrieved June 1, 2013
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: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - O'Pray, Michael (1996). The British Avant-Garde Film, 1926–1995: An Anthology of Writings. .
- Reeves, Thomas C. (1972). "The Search for the Chester Alan Arthur Papers". .
- "Grandson of President Arthur Dies". )
- Summers, Danny (January 21, 2021) [December 18, 2019]. "Chester A. Arthur II was a sportsman; From the Sidelines". The Gazette. Retrieved March 12, 2022
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: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - "Chester Arthur 3D Dies on Coast at 71". The New York Times. Associated Press. April 30, 1972. p. 67. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
- "Press: Names". Time. January 22, 1934. Retrieved March 13, 2022
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