This finding aid was digitized with funds generously provided by the Smithsonian Institution Women's Committee.
Descriptive Entry:
The papers of Charles Frederic Girard consist chiefly of manuscripts, research notes, and bibliographical data on natural history. Also included is a small amount of
correspondence. Of particular interest is a manuscript concerning Girard's voyage to America with Louis Agassiz in 1846 and copies of correspondence and statements by Girard
concerning a dispute with Agassiz. Much of the material is written in French.
Historical Note:
Charles Frederic Girard (1822-1895) was born in France. He became a student and assistant to Louis Agassiz in Switzerland and came to the United States with Agassiz
in 1847. He worked in Cambridge with Agassiz until 1850 when he left to become Spencer F. Baird's principal assistant at the Smithsonian Institution. While at the Smithsonian,
Girard published a number of works on herpetology and ichthyology, both alone and in collaboration with Baird. In 1860, he accepted a commission from the Confederacy to supply
drugs and medical supplies and left for Paris. He made a brief trip to the Southern states in 1863. Following the war, he returned to Paris, where he spent the rest of his
life in medical practice.
This series consists mostly of manuscripts; drafts of speeches and lectures; and notes documenting Charles Girard's research in natural history. Also included are
a few pieces of correspondence concerning Girard's Bibliographia Americana Historico-Naturalis. Of special interest is a manuscript regarding Girard's voyage to America
with Louis Agassiz in 1846 and copies of correspondence and statements by Girard concerning a dispute with Agassiz.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7190, Charles Frederic Girard Papers
Folder 2 "The nutritive fluid and the assimilation or separative process." Draft of speech delivered before the Harvard Natural History Society, January 10, 1850.
Folder 8 "Testimonials in reference to the Bibliographia Americana Historico-Naturalis, A. D., 1851." Consists of correspondence, and newspaper clippings regarding Girard's bibliography, 1853. Includes correspondence from James Dwight Dana, Jeffries Wy...
