Archival Resources

Koenig, Frederick Gilman, Jr. Short Stories And Poetry

Frederick Koenig was a lawyer, manufacturing executive, and an active member of the Birmingham business community. Born October 1, 1915 to Frederick and Myra Koenig in Birmingham, Koenig earned a bachelor’s degree from Birmingham-Southern College in 1935 and an LL.B. from Harvard University in 1938. He worked as a lawyer in Birmingham until he enlisted in the U.S. Infantry in 1942. He served four years, eventually attaining the rank of captain, and was awarded a Bronze Star.

Koenig returned to Birmingham in 1946. The following year he began working with Alabama By-Products, the company he remained with for the rest of his life. Koenig served variously on the boards of the First National Bank of Birmingham, the Ketona Chemical Corporation, the Association of Alabama Industries, the Alabama Water Improvement Commission, the Salvation Army, the Alabama Mining Institute, American Coke and Chemicals Institute, Bituminous Coal Research, and other organizations. He also served as the director of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, the Better Business Bureau, and the Jefferson County Community Chest.

Koenig was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution and other societies. He died in Birmingham on April 9, 1978.

Source:

Who Was Who in America. Volume 7, 1977-1981. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1981.

This collection contains a form rejection letter from The New Yorker and one bound volume of typescripts of stories and poetry relating to World War II entitled "War Stories and Poems." The stories were probably written in the 1940s when Koenig was in the Infantry and then working for the Tennessee Valley Authority. At least one of the poems may have been written while he was a student at Harvard in the late 1930s. None of the material is dated, but most of the stories have return addresses.

The stories and poems are about espionage, love, and betrayal, and are populated with handsome men in uniform and alluring women either mourning a soldiers’ departure or themselves agents in international intrigue.

Not available.

Authors -- Alabama -- Birmingham.
Koenig, Frederick Gilman, Jr., 1915-1978.
Poets -- Alabama -- Birmingham.
World War, 1939-1945 – Short stories.

Collection Number: 1582

Size: ¼ linear foot (1 box)

Source/Provenance: Patrick Cather

Restrictions: Standard preservation and copyright restrictions. Do not photocopy bound volume.

RA/9-24-01