This month, TARC is delighted to feature the Donald and Charlotte MacJannet Papers (MS024), which contain the correspondence and papers of Donald and Charlotte MacJannet spanning from the end of the 19th century to the end of the 20th century. The MacJannets often found themselves touched by the major events of the 20th century, and their papers reflect the global progress and turbulence that took place during that time.
Donald Ross MacJannet (1894-1986), A1916, H1933, H1979, was a benefactor of Tufts University and an educator who established his own international schools and camps. His greatest gift to the Tufts was the property in Talloires, France, the current location of the Tufts European Center. MacJannet was orphaned at an early age and raised, along with his sister, in the home of a Medford, Massachusetts widow. In 1912, he graduated as valedictorian of Medford High School and entered Tufts College on a partial scholarship. He earned a B.A. in French literature in 1916. He then attended the Sorbonne in France. During World War I, he trained as a pilot.
In 1925, MacJannet founded a school in Paris, known as the Trocadero School. He then opened a second school in Saint-Cloud, called the Elms School, where students of all nationalities were educated--Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, among them. The following year, MacJannet also acquired some land near Lake Annecy, where he founded two camps. These too attracted an international clientele, spreading his reputation as an educator throughout the world. Some of his notable campers included Indira Gandhi, the late Prime Minister of India, and Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart.
In 1932, MacJannet was elected to the Legion of Honor. This was also the year he met a young German woman named Charlotte Blensdorf (1901-1999), a teacher of the Dalcroze method, at an educational conference in Nice, France. They married November 5, 1932 in the Marylebone Town Hall in London.
The MacJannet schools operated for seventeen years, closing in the early 1940s. The camps continued until 1964, with a brief hiatus during World War II. During the war, the MacJannets returned to the United States, operating a school and camp in Idaho and helping with the war effort in Washington, D.C. In 1944, they established the Vacation School of French with Tufts College. Located in Arlington, MA, the purpose of the summer school was to educate people in French language and culture so that they might take up rehabilitation work in post-war France.
In 1944, Tufts president Leonard Carmichael called on the MacJannets to help consolidate the college's dental and medical schools on the new Harrison Avenue, Boston campus. As soon as they were able, the MacJannets returned to France to resume their camps' normal operations. This work also involved aid to French orphans, children who were the camp's first attendees after the war.
The MacJannets purchased an eleventh century Benedictine priory in Talloires, France in 1958. MacJannet restored the building for use as an educational facility, using it for twenty years as a center to house educational and cultural events, drawing people from around the world. In 1979, the MacJannets turned the property over to Tufts University, which established its European campus and conference center on the premises. The MacJannets split their time thereafter between Talloires and their home in Geneva.
Donald MacJannet died on April 4, 1986 in Geneva, Switzerland. Charlotte Blensdorf MacJannet continued the work they had begun together until her death in 1999.
Personal papers and records of the camps and schools the MacJannets founded in Europe and America are included in this collection, as well as materials relating to the Priory at Talloires and Tufts University. This collection contains film, photographs, correspondence, ledgers, admissions files, student files, scrapbooks, and other materials that reflect their lives, both personal and professional. Their personal papers also include information about their professional endeavors, including information about their camps and schools.
Check out the Tufts Digital Library to explore thousands of digitized photos from the MacJannet Papers, or visit our Reading Room to see these materials in person! You can also learn more about the MacJannets, their work, and their relationship with Tufts in TARC’s online exhibit The MacJannet Legacy.