Joseph R. Hamlen '04 president and publisher of the Harvard Alumni Bulletin, died Thursday night after a short illness. He was prominent in alumni and civil affairs and was a well-known Boston business man.

In 1925 Hamlen returned to Cambridge from his industrial management post in Little Rock, Ark., to organize the Har-general secretary of the Alumni Council. The University awarded Hamlen an honorary Master of Arts degree in 1933.

Hamlen was assistant to the chairman of the American Red Cross during World War I and headed the Boston Metropolitan Chapter during World War II.

He was also vice-president of Albert Frank-Guenther Law, Inc., a national advertising agency. He became head of its Boston office in 1929, and remained associated with the agency until his death.

His latest writing was a portrait sketch of the late President Lowell, which appeared in the Dec. 8 issue of the Alumni Bulletin. Hamlen was a long-time friend of President Lowell.

Hamlen, who was a native of Portland, Maine, lived at 417 Beacon St. Services will be held this afternoon at 3 p.m. at Memorial Church. He will be buried in Portland.

He was a member of Delta, and the Hastly Pudding-Institute of 1770. His clubs included the Somerset, Tavern, Harvard Club of Boston, Wednesday and Thursday Evening Clubs of Boston. He was a Pilgrim-Tercentenary member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society.