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Richard "Dick" Ham Photograph Collection (PH-00440)

Abstract

The Richard "Dick" Ham Photograph Collection (1910-2005) contains photographs of Boulder City, Nevada resident Richard "Dick" Ham, his family, friends, and romantic partners. Images include photographs of Las Vegas High School and the University of California, Berkeley where Ham attended high school and college. The collection includes both formal portraits as well as candid snapshots of Ham and the people who were part of his life.

Finding Aid PDF

Date

1910 to 2005

Extent

0.20 Cubic Feet (1 box, 1 flat file (shared box))
2.02 Linear Feet

Related People/Corporations

Creator: Ham, Richard

Scope and Contents Note

The Richard "Dick" Ham Photograph Collection (1910-2005) contains photographs of Boulder City, Nevada resident Richard "Dick" Ham, his family, friends, and romantic partners. Images include photographs of Las Vegas High School and the University of California, Berkeley where Ham attended high school and college. The collection includes both formal portraits as well as candid snapshots of Ham and the people who were part of his life.

Access Note

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.

Arrangement

Materials remain as they were received.

Biographical / Historical Note

Richard "Dick" Ham grew up in Boulder City, Nevada and attended Las Vegas High School in the 1930s. As a teenager, Ham was in a five-year relationship with Fred Alward, the Lieutenant Governor of Nevada. He attended the University of California, Berkeley before joining the United States Navy during World War II. Ham began working in politics after the war including working for Senator Pat McCarran's office and then joining Grant Sawyer's gubernatorial campaign. Ham would eventually become Sawyer's Chief of Staff and work in politics until his retirement in 1990. He was married to Betty Ham until her death in 2001 and the couple had two children. Ham passed away in 2012 at the age of 89.

Sources:

McBride, Dennis. Out of the Neon Closet: Queer Community in the Silver State. United States: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017.

"Obituary: Betty Ham," Nevada Appeal, December 20, 2001. https://www.nevadaappeal.com/news/2001/dec/20/obituary-betty-ham/.

"Obituary: Richard Ham," Nevada Appeal, September 17, 2012. https://www.nevadaappeal.com/news/2012/sep/17/obituary-richard-ham/.

"Carson man lives by simple motto," Nevada Appeal, September 3, 2001. https://www.nevadaappeal.com/news/2001/sep/03/carson-man-lives-by-simple-motto/.

Related Collections

The following resource may provide additional information related to the materials in this collection:

Richard Ham oral history interview, 2002 January 18. OH-02551. Oral History Research Center, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.

Preferred Citation

Richard "Dick" Ham Photograph Collection, 1910-2005. PH-00440. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.

Acquisition Note

Materials were donated by Dennis McBride in 2021; accession number 2021-128.

Processing Note

In 2021, Tammi Kim processed the collection during accessioning and created the finding aid in ArchivesSpace. Original descriptions created by Dennis McBride have been retained.

Resource Type

Collection

Collection Type

EAD ID

US::NVLN::PH00440

Finding Aid Description Rules

Describing Archives: A Content Standard
English