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Lester Bowles Pearson and the Nobel Peace Prize: 1957-2007

Lester Bowles Pearson (1897-1972) distinguished himself on the world stage long before becoming the leader of the federal Liberal Party and prime minister of Canada. His diplomatic career began in 1928 with his appointment to the Department of External Affairs. He served as first secretary to the Canadian High Commission in London and as Canadian ambassador in Washington, D.C. He later entered politics and, in 1948, the cabinet of Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent as minister of External Affairs. In the early 1950s, Pearson served as chairman of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Council and later as president of the United Nations General Assembly. It was Pearson's work in helping to resolve the Suez Canal Crisis that earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957, and cemented Canada's reputation as a leader in keeping the peace.

1. Selected Archival Resources

• Lester B. Pearson fonds
• Department of External Affairs fonds

2. Published Resources: A Selected Bibliography of Works by Lester B. Pearson

Pearson, Lester B. The Crisis of Development. New York: Published for the Council on Foreign Relations by Praeger Publishers, 1970. AMICUS No. 1991775.

Pearson, Lester B., Ernest A. Gross, and Sir Patrick Dean. A Critical Evaluation of the United Nations. Vancouver: University of British Columbia, 1961. AMICUS No. 3682290.

Pearson, Lester B. Democracy in World Politics. Toronto: S. J. Reginald Saunders, 1955. AMICUS No. 4261949.

Pearson, Lester B. Diplomacy in the Nuclear Age. Toronto: S. J. Reginald Saunders, 1959. AMICUS No. 3605344.

Pearson, Lester B. Four Faces of Peace and the International Outlook. Statements selected and edited by Sherleigh G. Pierson. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1964. AMICUS No. 3650226.

Pearson, Lester B. Mike: The Memoirs of the Right Honourable Lester B. Pearson. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1972. AMICUS No. 48812.

Pearson, Lester B. Peace in the Family of Man. Toronto; New York: Oxford University Press, 1969. AMICUS No. 7218132.

Pearson, Lester B. Politique mondiale et démocratie. Tr. de l'anglais par Nicole Bogliolo. Paris: La Colombe, Éditions du Vieux Colombier, 1958. AMICUS No. 7084845

Pearson, Lester B. Words and Occasions: An Anthology of Speeches and Articles Selected from His Papers. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1970. AMICUS No. 1323927.

3. Published Resources: A Selected Bibliography of Works about Lester B. Pearson and Canadian Diplomacy

Adam, Helen Patricia. Canada and the Suez Crisis, 1956: The Evolution of Policy and Public Debate. Ottawa: National Library of Canada, 1989. 3 microfiches (210 fr.). AMICUS No. 8830146.

Ayre, William Burton. Mr. Pearson and Canada's Revolution by Diplomacy. Montreal: Wallace Press, 1966. AMICUS No. 2190629.

Beal, John Robinson. Pearson of Canada. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1964. AMICUS No. 2190653.

Beal, John Robinson. The Pearson Phenomenon. Toronto: Longmans Canada, 1964. AMICUS No. 2190747.

Beal, John Robinson, and Jean-Marc Poliquin. Les trois vies de Pearson. Montreal: Éditions de l'Homme, 1968. AMICUS No. 4790450.

Bothwell, Robert. Pearson: His Life and World. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1978. AMICUS No. 11832278.

Derrah, Scott Hilton. Father or Midwife? Lester B. Pearson and the Origins of United Nations Peacekeeping. Ottawa: National Library of Canada, 2001. [2 microfiches.] AMICUS No. 25079359.

English, John. The Life of Lester Pearson. 2 v. Toronto: Lester & Orpen Dennys, 1989-1992. AMICUS No. 8693795.

English, John. Shadow of Heaven: The Life of Lester Pearson. Toronto: Lester & Orpen Dennys, 1989. AMICUS No. 12846912.

Gafuik, Nicholas. More Than a Peacemaker: Canada's Cold War Policy and the Suez Crisis, 1948-1956. Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada, 2006. [Microfiches.] AMICUS No. 33151556.

Gellman, Peter. "Lester B. Pearson, Collective Security and the World Order Tradition of Canadian Foreign Policy." International Journal 44,1 (Winter 1988/1989), pp. 68-101. AMICUS No. 90198.

Hillmer, Norman, ed. Pearson: The Unlikely Gladiator. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1999. AMICUS No. 20571064.

Holmes, John W., and Adam Chapnick. "The Unquiet Diplomat-Lester B. Pearson." International Journal 62,2 (Spring 2007), pp. 291-309. AMICUS No. 90198.

Levitt, Joseph. Pearson and Canada's Role in Nuclear Disarmament and Arms Control Negotiations, 1945-1957. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1993. AMICUS No. 12561456.

Melady, John. Pearson's Prize: Canada and the Suez Crisis. Toronto: Dundurn, 2006. AMICUS No. 32602300.

National Museum of Man (Canada). Rt. Hon. L. B. Pearson's Nobel Peace Prize. Ottawa: Queen's Printer, 1968. AMICUS No. 2380541.

Pearson, Geoffrey. Seize the Day: Lester B. Pearson and Crisis Diplomacy. Ottawa: Carleton University Press, 1993. AMICUS No. 13041675.

Pompa, Edward Michael. Canadian Foreign Policy During the Suez Crisis of 1956. Ann Arbor, MI: University Microfilms International, 1970, 1969. [1 reel.] AMICUS No. 7833235.

Robertson, Terence. Crisis: The Inside Story of the Suez Conspiracy. New York: Atheneum, 1964. AMICUS No. 4087673.

Simpson, Erika. "The Principles of Liberal Internationalism According to Lester Pearson." Journal of Canadian Studies 34,1 (Spring 1999). AMICUS No. 2834666.

Thordarson, Bruce. Lester Pearson, Diplomat and Politician. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1974. AMICUS No. 75958.

4. Further Research

Canada and the World: A History-1945-1957: A Divided World (Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada).
www.international.gc.ca/history-histoire/
100/index.aspx

First among Equals: The Canadian Prime Minister in Canadian Life and Politics-The Right Honourable Lester Bowles Pearson (Library and Archives Canada).
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/primeministers/
h4-3350-e.html

Lester Bowles Pearson: The Nobel Peace Prize 1957 (Nobel Foundation).
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/
1957/pearson-bio.html

UNA-Canada Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Lester B. Pearson's Nobel Peace Prize (1957-2007) (United Nations Association in Canada).
www.unac.org/en/projects/pearsonnobel50/index.asp