r NOTES AND DOCUMENTS
"Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame-
Morris L. Wardell"
By Bob L. Blackburn
Delivered at the OHS Annual Awards Banquet, April 18, 1997
Another educator-turned-historian who uncovered the wonders of
regional history was inductee Morris L. Wardell. Like his good
friend E.E. Dale, Wardell started as a public school teacher but
continued his education, earning a B.A. from the University of
Oklahoma, an M.A. from Harvard, and his Ph.D. from the Univer-
sity of Chicago.
Wardell joined the history faculty at the University of Okla-
homa in 1925 and proceeded to work in the trenches of regional-
ism. In the 1930s he supervised all Works Progress Administration
projects at the University of Oklahoma, including archival and
writing projects. He also chaired a public lecture series from 1931
to 1944, reviewed books for twenty years in the Daily Oklahoman
and other publications, hosted a history program on a local radio
station, and gave as many as ten commencement addresses every
year in small towns.
Wardell left a legacy in the classroom as well. In 1946 he was
named David Ross Boyd Professor, an honor granted for "vigorous
performance and leadership in teaching and counseling of stu-
dents." Of Wardell's five books, three were reference guides, pro-
viding better access to historical topics. His other book was the
well-respected A Political History of the Cherokee Nation. The
following represents Wardell's principal published works:
Books
With Edward Everett Dale. Outline and References for Oklahoma History. Nor-
man, Oklahoma: Peerless Printing Company, 1924.
With Henry D. Rinsland. Outline and References for United States History. 1928.
Outline and References for Medieval and Modern History. Norman, Oklahoma:
Transcript Press, 1929.

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