The Smithsonian Institution Archives began its Oral History Program in 1973. The purpose of the program is to supplement the written documentation of the Archives’
record and manuscript collections with an Oral History Collection, focusing on the history of the Institution, research by its scholars, and contributions of its staff. Program
staff conduct interviews with current and retired Smithsonian staff and others who have made significant contributions to the Institution. There are also interviews conducted
by researchers or students on topics related to the history of the Smithsonian or the holdings of the Smithsonian Institution Archives.
Jones was interviewed for the Oral History Collection because of his long association with the NMNH and outstanding research career in invertebrate zoology.
Descriptive Entry:
Jones was interviewed by Pamela M. Henson on October 23, 1990 at his home in Washington State. This interview discusses his education, his years at Florida State University
and AMNH, his career at the NMNH, research on polycheate worms, especially the eastern Pacific hydrothermal rift fauna of giant tube worms, field work, and reminiscences of
colleagues. The collection consists of 5.5 hours of audiotape recording and 186 pages of transcript.
Historical Note:
Meredith Leam Jones (1926-1996), invertebrate zoologist, received the B.A. in 1948, M.S. in 1952, and Ph.D. in 1956 from the University of California at Berkeley. From
1957 to 1960, he was an Assistant Professor at Florida State University. From 1960 to 1964, he was Assistant Curator in the Department of Living Invertebrates at the American
Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City. In 1964, he accepted a position as Associate Curator in the Department of Invertebrate Zoology of the National Museum of
Natural History (NMNH). In 1970, he advanced to Curator in the Division of Worms, Department of Invertebrate Zoology, a position he held until his retirement in 1989. Jones'
research focused on systematics of polycheate worms, especially those found at the hydrothermal vents in the eastern Pacific.
Rights:
Restricted. Contact SIHistory@si.edu to request permission.
Topic:
Museum curators -- United States -- Interviews Search this
This collection consists of materials related to William Hampton's military career in Taiwan and Antarctica. From his time in Taiwan, there are eighteen black and white photographs related to disaster response operations with an attached letter, a roll of 8mm motion picture film labeled, "President Eisenhower, Cedar Rapids, Taiwan," the letter notifying Hampton of his assignment there, the certificate that accompanied Hampton's Army Aviation Badge from the Army, Republic of China, the certificate that accompanied Hampton's U.S. Army Commendation Medal, a Certificate of Achievement from the Military Assistance Advisory Group, copies of three letters of appreciation, and a clipping dated September 21, 1961 about Hampton's rescue missions from an unknown newspaper. From Hampton's work in Operation Deep Freeze, there are 56 color slides and 36 black and white photos depicting daily operations in Antarctica, two rolls of color 8mm motion picture film of snow sledding, a can of motion picture film entitled "Antarctica," a U.S. Navy booklet, "Welcome to Operation Deep Freeze," a large map showing the operating areas for Operation Deep Freeze in fiscal year 1965, a map showing National Science Foundation Antarctic Activities in 1965-1966, a reprint of The Geology and Geochronology of the Basement Complex of the Central Transantarctic Mountains by Gubter Faure, et al. (inscribed to Hampton by Faure), the September-October 1964 issue of the American Society of Polar Philatelists' newsletter Ice Cap News, two sets of Hampton's U.S. Army travel orders to a temporary change of duty to McMurdo, Antarctica, two copies of the February 1965 issue of Bulletin of the U.S. Antarctic Projects Officer and one copy of the March 1965 issue of the same publication, one copy each of the January and February 1966 issues of the VX-6 Newsletter generated at McMurdo Station, an Operation Deep Freeze Task Force 43 patch, a clipping from December 1965 from an unidentified newspaper about Operation Deep Freeze, and a letter from F. Alton Wade (Texas Technical College, Department of Geosciences) to Hampton thanking him for cooperation with his team and informing him that a geological feature will be named in Antarctica for each member of Hampton's detachment (Hampton's feature is Hampton Hill south of where Alton's team camped.) The last item in the collection is a letter from Howard F. Schiltz, Brigadier General, USA, Commanding, addressed to Hampton in San Francisco and dated April 6, 1967, thanking him for a tour of the Floating Aircraft Maintenance Facility.
Biographical / Historical:
William C. Hampton served in the U.S. Army, first as a captain and later as a major. From February 1960 until July 1962, Captain Hampton was assigned to the Army Section (Aviation Section), Military Assistance Advisory Group, in Taiwan, Republic of China. During this time, he flew missions responding to aircraft accidents and disaster relief missions including evacuation operations and brought food and medical supplies to typhoon survivors in a Piasecki H-21 Shawnee helicopter. Captain Hampton received the Army Aviation Badge from the Army, Republic of China, the United States Army Commendation Medal, and a Certificate of Achievement from the Military Assistance Advisory Group due to his meritorious service in Taiwan. In the mid 1960s, Hampton (by then a major) was assigned to Operation Deep Freeze at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Operation Deep Freeze was a U.S. Navy logistic support operation of American scientific research in Antarctica. The Navy was supported by the Air Force, Army, Marines, and Coast Guard in what was called at the time "the greatest peacetime military logistic program in our history." Operation Deep Freeze began in 1955 when President Eisenhower mandated support for the United States' participation in International Geophysical Year activities in Antarctica, beginning on July 1, 1957. International Geophysical Year activities were concluded at the end of 1958, and Operation Deep Freeze began to support the United States Antarctic Research Program. McMurdo Station was officially dedicated on February 16, 1956 and was the site for research relating to glaciology, gravity, meteorology, oceanography, special studies, and biology. McMurdo Station also housed the continent's first nuclear power plant, built in fiscal year 1962. By April 1967, Hampton was stationed with the 1st Transportation Corps (TC) Battalion in San Francisco which was operating a Floating Aircraft Maintenance Facility.
Provenance:
Martha E. Hampton, Gift, 2008
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Knabenshue, A. Roy (Augustus Roy), 1876-1960 Search this
Container:
Box 6, Folder 4
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
A. Roy Knabenshue Collection, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0136, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Woman's Building (Los Angeles, Calif.) Search this
Container:
Box 12, Folder 15
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
circa 1975-1978
Collection Citation:
Woman's Building records, 1970-1992. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Getty Foundation. Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by The Walton Family Foundation and Joyce F. Menschel, Vital Projects Fund, Inc.
