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Kirk Kerkorian collection

Kirk Kerkorian collection

Descriptive Summary

Title: Kirk Kerkorian collection
Creator: Kerkorian, Kerkor , 1917-2015
Inclusive Dates: 1942-1951
Bulk Dates: 1942-1945
Language(s): English
Extent: 4.25 Linear Feet (1 box, 1 oversize folder, 1 trunk)
Collection Number: ms3962
Repository: Hargrett Library

Collection Description

Historical Note

Kirk Kerkorian was born in California to Armenian immigrants in the year 1917. He left school in the eighth grade and found success as an amateur boxer. In anticipation of World War II, Kerkorian began taking flying lessons. After receiving his pilot's certification, Kerkorian flew for the British Royal Air Force and was based in Canada. Following the war, he worked as a pilot eventually settling in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kerkorian became well-known through his ventures in the airline, gambling resorts and film industries. Notably, he built the world's largest hotel in Las Vegas three times: the International Hotel (opened in 1969), the MGM Grand Hotel (1973) and the MGM Grand (1993). Kirk Kerkorian was also a very active philanthropist reportedly donating over one billion dollars to charity throughout his career.

Scope and Content

The collection consists of papers and artifacts from Kirk Kerkorian's service during World War II. A personal photograph album and several issues of the Gosport, a publication of the Morton Air Academy, are also included.


Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Kirk Kerkorian collection, ms3962, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries.


Related Materials and Subjects

Subject Terms

Air pilots, Military -- Training of -- United States.
Businessmen.
World War, 1939-1945.

Series Descriptions and Folder Listing

 
boxfolder
11Agreement between Air Ministry of the United Kingdom and Kirk Kerkorian, 1943
 
12Letter from Ara Papian, Armenian Ambassador to Canada
 
13Photograph album
 
14Photographs- airplanes
 
15TWA ticket receipt- New York to Los Angeles, 1942
 
16Morton Air Academy (Blythe, CA) booklet
 
17Gosport class 43-A, August 1942
 
18Gosport v.1, no.4 class 43-D, November 1942
 
19Gosport v.1, no.5 class 43-E, December 1942
 
110Gosport v.1, no.6 class 43-F, January 1943
 
111Gosport v.1, no.7 class 43-G
 
112Gosport v.1, no.8 class 43-H
 
113Clipping- "Used Transport Planes Are Scarce; Prices Double, Triple Pre-Korea" Wall Street Journal, 1951
 
114Royal Air Force cuff links, patches, insignia, and bullets
 
115Dalton Dead Reckoning Computer
 
oversized_folder
1RAF ID card, flight schedule, pay schedule (reproductions, matted), 1943-1945
 
1RAF certificate of service
 
1Signed photograph (reproduction)
 
item
1Trunk with Royal Air Force uniform