United States National Museum Department of Geology Search this
United States National Museum Division of Mineralogy Search this
United States National Museum Division of Physical and Chemical Geology (Systematic and Applied) Search this
Museum of Natural History (U.S.) Department of Mineral Sciences Search this
Type:
Mixed archival materials
Date:
1897
1897-1963
Category:
Agency History
Notes:
This is an agency history. It does not describe actual records. The Smithsonian Institution Archives uses these histories as brief accounts of the origin, development, and functions of an office or administrative unit to set that unit in its historical context. To find information on record holdings, please double-click the highlighted field "Creator/Author", which will open on a brief view of relevant records.
Guide to the Smithsonian Archives
Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution
Annual Report of the United States National Museum
A Division of Mineralogy was created as a part of the newly established Department of Geology, United States National Museum (USNM), in 1897. Frank Wigglesworth Clarke, who had served as Honorary Curator of Mineralogy in the USNM since 1883, assumed the same position in the new Division. In 1911, the name was changed to the Division of Mineralogy and Petrology. In 1942, the Division of Mineralogy and Petrology was combined with the Division of Physical and Chemical Geology (Systematic and Applied) under the former name. The Department of Geology was abolished in 1963 as a part of a reorganization in the Museum of Natural History. At that time, the Division of Mineralogy and Petrology became the newly created Department of Mineral Sciences.
Curators and research staff of the Division of Mineralogy and Petrology and its predecessor divisions included Frank Wigglesworth Clarke, Honorary Curator, 1897-1931; Wirt deVivier Tassin, Assistant Curator, 1897-1909; Joseph E. Pogue, Assistant Curator, 1909-1913; Edgar Theodore Wherry, Assistant Curator, 1913-1917; William F. Foshag, Assistant Curator and Curator, 1919-1956; Edward P. Henderson, Associate Curator, 1942-1963; George Switzer, Associate Curator and Curator, 1948-1963; Roy S. Clarke, Chemist, 1957-1963; and Paul E. Desautels, Associate Curator, 1957-1963.
For a history of the larger creating unit, refer to "Forms part of" above.
Repository Loc.:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Capital Gallery, Suite 3000, MRC 507; 600 Maryland Avenue, SW; Washington, DC 20024-2520
