Search results for: +Photographers + Washington (D.C.), page 1 | Collections Search Center, Smithsonian Institution

Discover Graphics Records

Creator::: Smithsonian Associates. Studio Arts Program Search this

Extent:: 1 cu. ft. (2 document boxes)

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Brochures; Manuscripts; Drawings; Black-and-white photographs; Electronic records; Floppy disks

Date:: circa 1984-1995

Descriptive Entry:: Materials include the correspondence of Joanne M. Gigliotti, Program Manager for "Discover Graphics" project; grant and budgetary information; photographs, contact sheets, and slides of class activities; invitations to student printmaking exhibitions; brochures; and confirmation forms sent to high school art teachers selected to attend the project along with their students.

Historical Note:: This accession consists of records that document the "Discover Graphics" project at the Smithsonian Associates, in the Studio Arts Program. The project was established to teach Washington D.C. area high school art teachers and their students professional printmaking skills using Smithsonian presses and museum resources. The records also date back to when the project was part of the Resident Associate Program.

Topic:: Museums -- Educational aspects Search this; Prints -- Technique Search this

Genre/Form:: Brochures; Manuscripts; Drawings; Black-and-white photographs; Electronic records; Floppy disks

Citation:: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 98-038, Smithsonian Associates, Studio Arts Program, Discover Graphics Records

Identifier:: Accession 98-038

See more items in:: Discover Graphics Records

Archival Repository:: Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-sia-fa98-038

Exhibition Records

Creator::: Smithsonian Institution. Archives Search this

Extent:: 0.5 cu. ft. (1 document box)

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Manuscripts; Brochures; Floor plans; Maps; Color photographs

Date:: 2002-2008

Descriptive Entry:: This accession consists of records documenting the exhibition Beauty in Service to Science: The Panoramas of Charles D. Walcott that was on display at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C., in 2004, and the online exhibition of the same name. Materials include correspondence, research, notes, texts, floor plans, checklists, invitation lists, schedules, exhibition brochures, maps, photographs, and related materials.

Topic:: Museum archives Search this; Exhibitions Search this; Photography, Panoramic Search this

Genre/Form:: Manuscripts; Brochures; Floor plans; Maps; Color photographs

Citation:: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 12-631, Smithsonian Institution, Archives, Exhibition Records

Identifier:: Accession 12-631

See more items in:: Exhibition Records

Archival Repository:: Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-sia-fa12-631

No Image Available

Photographs: African American Life in Washington, D.C.

Collection Creator::: National Museum of American History. Office of the Director Search this

Container:: Box 1 of 2

Type:: Archival materials

Collection Citation:: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 06-001, National Museum of American History. Office of the Director, Exhibition Records

See more items in:: Exhibition Records; Exhibition Records / Box 1

Archival Repository:: Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:: ead_component:sova-sia-fa06-001-refidd1e563

Records

Creator::: Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Search this

Extent:: 10.5 cu. ft. (21 document boxes)

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Black-and-white photographs; Maps; Clippings; Manuscripts; Pamphlets; Architectural drawings

Date:: 1923-1954

Descriptive Entry:: Record Unit 85, records of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, covers the years 1923-1965. Most records end by 1954, with the exception of Quarterly Progress Reports, which extend through the year 1965. Most of the documentation is of the field stations: Table Mountain, California; Montezuma, Chile; Mount St. Katherine, Egypt; and Tyrone, New Mexico; with only scattered references to the Mount Brukarros station and Mount Harqua Hala station. There are also records on budget matters and fiscal information from the Observatory Headquarters in Washington, D.C., concerning the field stations. Most of the information provided in this record unit is correspondence from the Field Director at each station to the Director of the Observatory and retained copies of the Director's responses. There is additional information in the form of contracts, official forms, and memoranda.

The records concerning these field stations come primarily from directors Charles Greeley Abbot and Loyal B. Aldrich, with numerous files from field station directors Alfred F. Moore (Table Mountain and Tyrone stations), Fred A. Greeley (Montezuma station), and Alfred G. Froiland (mostly Table Mountain station). These records are primarily administrative but also discuss relations between field station staff members. Also included in these records is the National Geographic Station correspondence and information on A. F. Moore's 1931 South African Expedition. These records do not cover the Observatory's move to Cambridge, nor do they go into detail about the opening or closing of any of their established stations.

The information is organized by field station, then alphabetically by subject and finally chronologically within subject. The budget and fiscal information, along with miscellaneous files, follow the field station files.

Historical Note:: In the scientific community, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO; also referred to as APO) has held a prestigious position since its inception. The Astrophysical Observatory itself was a direct result of the efforts made by Secretary Samuel Pierpont Langley, who was also its first Director.

Samuel Pierpont Langley was a self-taught man without benefit of a higher education. Langley was an intelligent man who knew he wanted to be involved in all aspects of the scientific process. By 1880, he had perfected the instrument known as the bolometer. The device could be used to measure heat and was best suited for quantitative scientific work because of its stability and the ability to repeat data. Langley has been called a scientist, an engineer, a naturalist, and an historian. In truth, he had to have been all of the above to establish himself as a world figure in astrophysics. With what he termed, "The New Astronomy," Langley created a science that focused on the sun and its effects. In 1887, while working at the Allegheny Observatory in Pennsylvania, Langley was asked to join the staff of the Smithsonian as Assistant Secretary under Spencer Baird and to help with the creation of the SAO. Quite unexpectedly, and after only a short period of time in Washington, Langley became Secretary of the Institution, and under his direction, ground was broken on the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in November 1889.

The Observatory building was originally located on the southeast side of the Castle Building, on Smithsonian Institution grounds. During construction several obstacles were overcome to create a suitable building. The first major problem came as a result of the vibrations from the busy Washington streets. The heavily trodden ground made it impossible to make sure that the collected data were accurate. This problem was eradicated by raising the structure off the ground and supporting it on deeply-set pylons. The second obstacle facing the Observatory was the oppressive summer heat and humidity of Washington. What resulted was one of the first year-round constant temperature spectroscopy rooms, controlled by an ammonia refrigeration system, with a continuous temperature of twenty degrees centigrade. Thus, the Smithsonian was the first institution with an air-conditioned astrophysical observatory.

It was during these early years of the SAO that Charles Greeley Abbot, a twenty-three-year-old from Boston, was hired on as an Observatory assistant. He worked with Langley, learning the principles of bolometry and spectral radiometry. In 1906, Abbot was asked to take over the Observatory from Langley, who wished to pursue his attempt at manned, heavier-than-air flight with his "aerodromes." With Abbot came the move away from long-term programmatic studies and onto short-term research projects. These were not as narrowly focused and thus covered a broader range of topics and influences from physical theory in observation and experimentation.

Under Director Abbot, the Observatory established field stations to achieve a diversified collection of solar constant values. The stations were strategically placed to ensure diversity in the readings, with the first station opened at Mount Harqua Hala, near Phoenix, Arizona, in use from 1920-1926. Also established in 1920 was Mount Montezuma, in Antofagasta, Chile, which maintained observations through 1955. The Montezuma station closed only when the skies became too cloudy and the air too filled with smog, from the local mines, to continue observations. In 1925, the Observatory opened the Table Mountain station in Swartout, California, which would remain in use longer than any of the other stations, closing in 1962. In Africa, the Observatory established two stations, the first at Mount Brukarros, located in Southwest Africa, in use through 1932, and the others near Mount Sinai, Egypt, on Mount St. Katherine, 1933-1937. In Silver City, New Mexico, the Tyrone station was in use from 1938-1946, also closing because of increasingly poor air quality and sky conditions. The SAO made attempts to relocate the stations that they were forced to close or abandon. One such attempt was made at Clark Mountain, in California, but sufficient funds were unavailable for this field station in 1948.

At Abbot's retirement in 1944, he was succeeded by Loyal B. Aldrich, who had worked for the Observatory for thirty-five years. Aldrich continued as Director until retiring in 1955. At that point Secretary Carmichael had approved the Observatory's move from Washington and began looking for a suitable location. With the growing concerns facing the Observatory, Carmichael felt that a move would be the best solution. In 1953, new worries concerning the future of the SAO escalated with the impending retirement of Aldrich and the unexpected death of his intended successor, William H. Hoover. It was at this time that Secretary Carmichael looked into moving the SAO to Climax, Colorado, and began discussions with Fred Whipple. After careful consideration, Carmichael decided that the lack of an astrophysical research program at the local university would diminish the availability of appropriate facilities for the SAO's use. Secretary Carmichael decided instead on a move to the Harvard College Observatory (HCO),Cambridge, Massachusetts. This move allowed a symbiotic relationship between the two observatories, but also ensured their recognition as two separate facilities.

By moving the SAO to the Harvard College Observatory, the Smithsonian would gain access to the network of solar research stations operated by Harvard, including the Sacramento Peak Observatory. Direct connections between the SAO and the HCO (via Sacramento) would facilitate further research in astrophysics, and new government contracts could be expected. The move from Washington, D.C. to Cambridge officially took place on July 1, 1955, under the Directorship of Fred L. Whipple.

While at the HCO, additions were made to the work with which the SAO was involved. They were an integral force in tracking the paths of satellites in "Operation Moonwatch;" the SAO began the series of "Smithsonian Contributions to Astrophysics," as well as establishing a Photographic Meteorite Program and the Center for Short-Lived Phenomena. In 1968, they opened yet another field observatory at Mount Hopkins, Arizona, to house the first multiple-mirrored telescope.

On July 1, 1973, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory merged with the Harvard College Observatory to become the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, or CFA, located at Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Chronology:: 1880 -- Samuel Pierpont Langley perfects the bolometer, a heat measuring device suited for quantitative scientific work because of its qualities of stability and repeatability

1887 -- Langley becomes Secretary of the Smithsonian

November 1889 -- Construction on an astrophysical observatory begins on the southeast grounds of the Castle Building

March 1890 -- Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory completed, equipped with a heliostat, a constant-temperature spectroscopy room kept at a year-round temperature of twenty degrees centigrade; and the building was raised on pylons

March 2, 1890 -- Samuel Pierpont Langley becomes the first Director of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

March 1890 -- Charles Greeley Abbot hired as an Observatory assistant

June 5, 1890 -- Alexander Graham Bell gives a $5,000 gift for astrophysical research

March 3, 1891 -- First appropriation of $10,000, given to the SAO, from Congress

May 28, 1900 -- Solar eclipse observed

1901 -- SAO published the first volume of "Annals of the Observatory"

February 7, 1906 -- Samuel Pierpont Langley dies and Charles Greeley Abbot becomes Director of the SAO

January 23, 1907 -- Charles Doolittle Walcott becomes Secretary of the Smithsonian

December 16, 1918 -- Charles Greeley Abbot becomes Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian

1920 -- Observatory field station established at Mount Harqua Hala, Arizona

1920 -- Observatory field station established at Montezuma (near Calama) in Antofagasta, Chile

1923 -- "Solar Cooker" set up on Mount Wilson, California

1925 -- Observatory field station established on Table Mountain, Swartout (near Wrightwood), California

1926 -- Abandonment of the Mount Harqua Hala (Arizona) Station

February 9, 1927 -- Secretary Walcott dies

January 10, 1928 -- Charles Greeley Abbot becomes Secretary of the Smithsonian

July 1, 1929 -- Division of Radiation and Organisms established under the SAO

October 19, 1929 -- Earthquake in Antofagasta, Chile, near the Montezuma Station; the station incurred no injuries to the observers nor damage to the equipment

1932 -- Abandonment of Mount Brukarros station in Africa

1933 -- Observatory field station established at Mount St. Katherine, Mount Sinai, Egypt

July 1936 -- Lightning strikes at the Table Mountain, California, field station, no injuries, but buildings and tunnels needed some reconstruction

1937 -- Station abandoned at Mount St. Katherine in Egypt

1938 -- Observatory field station established at Tyrone, Burro Mountain (near Silver City), New Mexico

1939 -- World War II begins

July 1, 1941 -- Division of Radiation and Organisms is funded by Congressional appropriation

June 30, 1944 -- Charles Greeley Abbot retires as Director of the SAO and is succeeded by Loyal B. Aldrich

1945 -- Alexander Wetmore becomes Secretary of the Smithsonian

1945 -- World War II ends

1946 -- Tyrone station (New Mexico) closes

1950-1953 -- Korean War

1953 -- Alexander Wetmore retires; Leonard Carmichael becomes Secretary of the Smithsonian

1953 -- William H. Hoover, long-time employee of the SAO, Chief to the Division of Astrophysical research, and Aldrich's intended successor, dies unexpectedly and Carmichael must begin the search for the next Director of the SAO

June 30, 1953 -- Andrew Kramer, instrument maker for sixty-one years, retires from the SAO

June 30, 1955 -- Loyal B. Aldrich retires

July 1, 1955 -- Montezuma station (Chile) abandoned

1955 -- SAO moves from Washington, D. C., to Cambridge, Massachusetts, under the Directorship of Fred L. Whipple

1956 -- Launching of "Operation Moonwatch" to assist in tracking the paths of satellites

1956 -- SAO begins the series "Smithsonian Contributions to Astrophysics"

1962 -- Table Mountain station (California) closes

1963 -- Photographic Meteorite Programs established

January 31, 1964 -- Leonard Carmichael retires; S. Dillon Ripley becomes Secretary of the Smithsonian

January 1, 1968 -- "Center for Short-Lived Phenomena" established, headquartered at the SAO

October 23, 1968 -- Mt. Hopkins, Arizona, Field Observatory opened; in the future it will house the first multiple-mirror telescope

July 1, 1973 -- SAO merges with the Harvard College Observatory to become the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CFA)

July 1, 1973 -- Fred L. Whipple retires

September 16, 1973 -- Secretary Emeritus Carmichael dies

December 17, 1973 -- Secretary Emeritus Abbot dies at the age of 101

Topic:: Astrophysical observatories Search this

Genre/Form:: Black-and-white photographs; Maps; Clippings; Manuscripts; Pamphlets; Architectural drawings

Citation:: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 85, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Records

Identifier:: Record Unit 85

See more items in:: Records

Archival Repository:: Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-sia-faru0085

Departmental Records

Creator::: National Museum of the American Indian. Museum Learning and Programs Search this

Extent:: 4 cu. ft. (4 record storage boxes)

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Brochures; Clippings; Manuscripts; Compact discs; Electronic records; Color photographs; Audiotapes

Date:: 1984-2018

Descriptive Entry:: This accession consists of the records of Carolyn Rapkievian, Assistant Director for Interpretation, and document her work coordinating educational programs and outreach at the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). Rapkievian first began her tenure at NMAI shortly after the Museum of the American Indian in New York City was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution. She helped organize a preview of the National Museum of the American Indian, George Gustav Heye Center in New York City in 1992 as well as helped organize exhibitions, public programs, and the opening of the museum in 1994. Starting in 1995, Rapkievian was on the team responsible for the planning of the NMAI museum in Washington, D.C. and its opening celebration in 2004. Since then she has been responsible for the running of educational programs and outreach at the museum until she retired in 2019. Among the various titles Rapkievian held include Assistant Director for Education and Museum Programs. Some records date to when the office was known as the Office of Public Programs and the Office of Education and Museum Programs. Also some materials date to when the museum was known as the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation and was not part of the Smithsonian Institution.

Materials include correspondence, memoranda, trip reports, visitor surveys, reports, lectures, publications, conference records, blog post text, guidelines, workshop records, study guides, brochures, images, forms, clippings, and other related materials. Some materials are in electronic format.

Topic:: Museums -- Public relations Search this; Museums -- Educational aspects Search this; Indians of North America -- Museums Search this; Museum outreach programs Search this; Workshops Search this

Genre/Form:: Brochures; Clippings; Manuscripts; Compact discs; Electronic records; Color photographs; Audiotapes

Citation:: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 19-203, National Museum of the American Indian. Museum Learning and Programs, Departmental Records

Identifier:: Accession 19-203

See more items in:: Departmental Records

Archival Repository:: Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-sia-fa19-203

Records

Topic:: Smithsonian scientific series

Creator::: Smithsonian Institution. Office of the Secretary Search this

Extent:: 57.93 cu. ft. (5 record storage boxes) (104 document boxes) (2 half document boxes) (1 12x17 box) (oversize materials)

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Manuscripts; Clippings; Black-and-white photographs

Date:: 1890-1929

Descriptive Entry:: This record unit documents the growth and management of the Smithsonian from 1890 to 1929. Of special interest is the Institution's entry into the field of the fine arts through the creation of the National Gallery of Art and the Freer Gallery of Art. The Smithsonian continued to pursue a wide variety of other interests as well. Thus, the records deal with the following topics, among others: aviation; the American School of Archaeology in China; the Carnegie Institution of Washington, D.C.; the Cinchona Botanical Station, Jamaica; many international congresses; numerous national and international expositions, especially the Panama-California Exposition, 1912-1916, and the Panama-Pacific Exposition at San Francisco, 1914-1915; the George Washington Memorial Association; the Harriman Alaska series; the Kahn Foundation for Foreign Travel of American Teachers; the Koren Expedition to Siberia; the Langley-Wright aerodrome controversy; the Montezuma solar observatory at Calama, Chile; solar observations at Mount Harqua Hala, Arizona, and Mount Wilson, California; the Naples Zoological Station; the National Academy of Sciences; the National Research Council; publication of Mary Vaux Walcott's North American Wildflowers; the Biological Survey of the Panama Canal Zone; the Alfred Duane Pell Collection; the Research Corporation; the Roosevelt African Expedition; seismological studies; the Charles D. and Mary Vaux Walcott Research Fund; the Smithsonian Scientific Series; grants from the Hodgkins Fund; the Langley Aerodynamical Laboratory; and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. The records include correspondence, minutes, announcements, publications, fiscal records, photographs, manuscripts, and news clippings.

Historical Note:: These records document the administration of the Smithsonian Institution during the tenure of Charles D. Walcott, its fourth Secretary, who served from 1907 to 1927. This period gave a deceptive appearance of strength to the Institution's life. Walcott himself, perhaps the last of the nineteenth-century scientist-politicians to combine a distinguished scientific reputation and polished ease in the world of political Washington, lent the Institution considerable support from his wide experience and many friends among the powerful of the day. The Institution's staff also boasted an able corps of scientists and senior administrators. Several new programs were developed during these years--the National Gallery of Art (now the National Museum of American Art) and the Freer Gallery of Art, in particular. These two galleries gave the Smithsonian its first real grounding in fine arts and rounded out the vision of the Institution as a place hospitable to all fields of learning.

Yet with the benefit of hindsight, these accomplishments can be seen to have masked real weakness, described either as the Smithsonian's failure to adapt its perception of itself to the changing world or as a lack of money.

When the Smithsonian was created in 1846 the corpus of its endowment was somewhat more than $500,000.00. It had few rivals elsewhere in the country. However, with the growth of large-scale private philanthropy after the Civil War, the Smithsonian's means shrank steadily in comparison to the endowments of leading institutions like the Sheffield Scientific School at Yale or new entrants like Stanford and the University of Chicago. No doubt this situation developed in part because the Smithsonian had no real alumni. It received a few small gifts from well-to-do members of its own staff and one moderate gift from Thomas George Hodgkins, a naturalized English eccentric. For all else it relied on small appropriations from the federal government, for which it performed certain services such as curating the collections of the National Museum. Coupled with meager financial resources was the Regents' suspicion of new and nonscientific endeavors. It is likely, for instance, that the Regents would have refused Charles Lang Freer's gift of a gallery of oriental art in 1906, had Theodore Roosevelt not obliged them to accept it. In the same way, the gift of certain patents on electrostatic precipitators by Frederic G. Cottrell in 1911 was politely shunted onto other shoulders, leaving the Smithsonian a remote beneficiary of the income. The Smithsonian's aloofness was in sharp contrast to the willingness of other institutions to accept such gifts. How this attitude arose is not clear. Perhaps it was an unconscious extension of Joseph Henry's early determination to associate the Smithsonian's name only with "worthy" purposes. However that may be, the Smithsonian was very late in the field in trying to augment its endowment. Walcott had begun to plan a campaign to raise $10,000,000.00--documented in record unit 46--which collapsed with his untimely death in 1927. Thus the Institution was to enter the era of the Depression in very straitened circumstances.

Topic:: Aeronautics Search this; Museums -- Administration Search this; Seismology Search this; Paleontology Search this

Genre/Form:: Manuscripts; Clippings; Black-and-white photographs

Citation:: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 45, Smithsonian Institution, Office of the Secretary, Records

Identifier:: Record Unit 45

See more items in:: Records

Archival Repository:: Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-sia-faru0045

Folder 6 Hydrographic Office, 1918-1924

Collection Creator::: Smithsonian Institution. Office of the Secretary Search this

Container:: Box 98 of 112

Type:: Archival materials

Collection Citation:: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 45, Smithsonian Institution, Office of the Secretary, Records

See more items in:: Records; Records / Series 3: RECORDS RELATED TO CABINET DEPARTMENTS AND OTHER GOVERNMENT OFFICES, 1902-1926. / Box 98

Archival Repository:: Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:: ead_component:sova-sia-faru0045-refidd1e13591

Online Media:

Records

Creator::: Smithsonian Institution. Office of the Under Secretary Search this

Extent:: 51.69 cu. ft. (102 document boxes) (1 16" x 20" box)

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Manuscripts; Clippings; Brochures; Maps; Black-and-white photographs; Black-and-white transparencies

Place:: Mall, The (Washington, D.C.)

Date:: 1958-1973

Descriptive Entry:: These records are mainly subject files kept by Bradley and Brooks in their capacities as Assistant Secretary and Under Secretary and concern the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, renovation of the Smithsonian Institution Building, the National Armed Forces Museum Advisory Board (NAFMAB), legislation affecting the Smithsonian, National Zoological Park, National Museum Act, personnel, Smithsonian Art Commission, National Portrait Gallery, Museum of History and Technology, budgets, congressional relations, Freer Gallery of Art, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, plans for the Mall, National Air and Space Museum, National Collection of Fine Arts, Museum of Natural History, National Gallery of Art, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Hillwood, regional museums, retirement funds, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, relations with the White House, Folklife Festivals, and the Smithsonian Science Information Exchange. Also included is a speech file of James C. Bradley.

Historical Note:: The Office of Under Secretary was first established in 1971. It is the successor office to that of the Assistant Secretary (Administration), the position held by John L. Keddy from 1947 to 1960.

James C. Bradley came to the Smithsonian in 1959 as Assistant to the Secretary, a newly created position. In 1960, Bradley became one of the two assistant secretaries, and his primary responsibility was general administration. The title was changed in 1971 to Under Secretary. Bradley held the post until his retirement in 1972.

Robert Angus Brooks was Deputy Under Secretary, 1971-1972. On Bradley's retirement, the title of Assistant Secretary was revived and Brooks was appointed to that position. In May of 1973 the title again became Under Secretary and Brooks retained that post.

The Under Secretary is administratively responsible to the Secretary and is the second ranking official in the Institution. He assists the Secretary in formulation of programs, analysis and solution of problems involved in the determination of policies, execution of policy decisions, and maintenance of an effective management and administrative system to support the Institution's programs. The Under Secretary serves as the Secretary's liaison with Congress and various federal and non-federal agencies.

Topic:: Museums -- Administration Search this

Genre/Form:: Manuscripts; Clippings; Brochures; Maps; Black-and-white photographs; Black-and-white transparencies

Citation:: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 137, Smithsonian Institution. Office of the Under Secretary, Records

Identifier:: Record Unit 137

See more items in:: Records

Archival Repository:: Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-sia-faru0137

No Image Available

Discusses photographs in a collection of portraits of artists and influential figures in the art world. While surveying the photographs and letters in the collection, Olga Hirshhorn reminiscences about her husband, artists, museum events, life in Washi...

Collection Creator::: Barton, George V. Search this

Container:: Interviews

Type:: Archival materials

Collection Citation:: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 9556, George V. Barton Reminiscences

See more items in:: George V. Barton Reminiscences; George V. Barton Reminiscences / Interviews

Archival Repository:: Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:: ead_component:sova-sia-faru9566-refidd1e729

Project Files

Creator::: Smithsonian Institution. Visitor Information and Associates' Reception Center Search this

Extent:: 3.27 cu. ft. (2 record storage boxes) (1 16x20 box) (0.58 non- standard size boxes)

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Brochures; Pamphlets; Manuscripts; Architectural drawings; Drawings; Ephemera; Maps; Black-and-white photographs; Videodiscs; Electronic records

Place:: Mall, The (Washington, D.C.)

Date:: 1976-2001

Descriptive Entry:: This accession consists of records that document the development and execution of projects by the Visitor Information and Associates' Reception Center (VIARC). The bulk of the records document VIARC's activities relating to the Smithsonian Institution's 150th Anniversary Program. VIARC developed various marketing tools to promote anniversary events. The office was responsible for the design and deployment of banners, flags, signage, brochures, and a special videodisc presentation by Secretary Ira Michael Heyman advertising the celebration that culminated in the "Party on the Mall" (August 10-11, 1996). Other projects include the development of signage directing visitors to museums and other points of interest in and around the Mall.

Materials include brochures, correspondence, drawings, financial records, ephemera, maps, memoranda, photographs, proposals, reports, and videodiscs.

Topic:: Advertising Search this; Anniversaries Search this; Museums -- Public Relations Search this; Visitors' centers Search this; Visitors Search this; Marketing Search this

Genre/Form:: Brochures; Pamphlets; Manuscripts; Architectural drawings; Drawings; Ephemera; Maps; Black-and-white photographs; Videodiscs; Electronic records

Citation:: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 02-189, Smithsonian Institution, Visitor Information and Associates' Reception Center, Project Files

Identifier:: Accession 02-189

See more items in:: Project Files

Archival Repository:: Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-sia-fa02-189

Publications

Creator::: Smithsonian Institution. Visitor Information and Associates' Reception Center Search this

Extent:: 2 cu. ft. (2 record storage boxes)

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Brochures; Manuscripts; Pamphlets; Floor plans; Maps; Color photographs; Videotapes

Place:: Mall, The (Washington, D.C.)

Date:: 1974-2004

Descriptive Entry:: This accession consists of publications created by the Visitor Information and Associates' Reception Center for distribution to volunteers and to the public as well as signage for the Smithsonian Institution on the National Mall and for the information and membership desks in the various museums. Materials include applications, forms, brochures, reply cards, photographs of signage, flyers, badges, holiday cards, bookmarks, floor plans, pamphlets, handbooks, invitations, handouts, maps, press kits, and orientation videos. Some materials are photocopies of the publications.

Topic:: Visitors' centers Search this; Museum publications Search this; Museums -- Public relations Search this; Volunteer workers in museums Search this

Genre/Form:: Brochures; Manuscripts; Pamphlets; Floor plans; Maps; Color photographs; Videotapes

Citation:: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 07-177, Smithsonian Institution, Visitor Information and Associates' Reception Center, Publications

Identifier:: Accession 07-177

See more items in:: Publications

Archival Repository:: Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-sia-fa07-177

Records

Creator::: Smithsonian Resident Associate Program. Office of Public Affairs Search this

Extent:: 27 cu. ft. (27 record storage boxes)

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Brochures; Manuscripts; Clippings; Black-and-white photographs; Black-and-white transparencies

Date:: 1974-1991

Descriptive Entry:: These records document the activities of the publicist and include information on special events sponsored by the Resident Associate Program. They consist of events files, correspondence, staff memoranda, photographs and slides, brochures, press releases, and news clippings. Most records are dated from 1983 to 1991, with some historical files dating from 1974. Of note are records of Smithsonian Kite Festivals; the Resident Associate Program's 25th Anniversary, 1990; and selected files concerning the Young Associates.

Historical Note:: The Smithsonian Resident Associate Program (RAP) was established in 1965 by Secretary S. Dillon Ripley to provide residents of the greater Washington, D.C., area the opportunity to participate in the activities of the Smithsonian Institution. The Program was administered under the assistant secretary for Public Service from 1965 to 1977 and thereafter under the Office of Management and Development, 1978-1990, and the Office of External Affairs, 1991- . Janet W. Solinger served as director of the Resident Associate Program, 1973- . Joan Cole was Publicist, 1983- .

Topic:: Museums -- Public relations Search this; Museums -- Educational aspects Search this

Genre/Form:: Brochures; Manuscripts; Clippings; Black-and-white photographs; Black-and-white transparencies

Citation:: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 632, Smithsonian Resident Associate Program, Office of Public Affairs, Records

Identifier:: Record Unit 632

See more items in:: Records

Archival Repository:: Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-sia-faru0632

Helena M. Weiss Papers

Creator::: Weiss, Helena M., 1909-2004 Search this

Extent:: 1.5 cu. ft. (1 record storage box) (1 document box)

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Manuscripts; Clippings; Brochures; Picture postcards; Scrapbooks; Books; Color transparencies; Black-and-white photographs; Black-and-white negatives; Color negatives; Color photographs

Place:: Washington (D.C.) -- Social life and customs; Thailand; Nepal; India

Date:: 1908-1993

Descriptive Entry:: This accession consists of the personal papers of Helena M. Weiss and documents her life in Washington, DC, her family, and her work and colleagues at the Smithsonian Institution, such as Ray S. Bassler and E. O. Ulrich. Also documented are Weiss' trips to Thailand, Nepal, and India. Of particular note is a scrapbook containing images of Weiss' family, friends, colleagues, and travel. Materials include correspondence, clippings, awards, brochures, publications, picture postcards, a scrapbook, and images.

Topic:: Travel Search this

Genre/Form:: Manuscripts; Clippings; Brochures; Picture postcards; Scrapbooks; Books; Color transparencies; Black-and-white photographs; Black-and-white negatives; Color negatives; Color photographs

Citation:: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 12-184, Helena M. Weiss Papers

Identifier:: Accession 12-184

See more items in:: Helena M. Weiss Papers

Archival Repository:: Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-sia-fa12-184

Alexander Wetmore Papers

Topic:: Birds of the Republic of Panama (Monograph : 1965)

Creator::: Wetmore, Alexander, 1886-1978 Search this

Extent:: 116.34 cu. ft. (206 document boxes) (10 half document boxes) (1 12x17 box) (2 16x20 boxes) (29 3x5 boxes) (13 5x8 boxes) (oversize materials)

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Motion pictures (visual works); Manuscripts; Black-and-white photographs; Lantern slides; Color transparencies; Drawings

Date:: circa 1848-1983 and undated

Introduction:: The papers of Alexander Wetmore were received in the Smithsonian Archives in several different accessions between 1978 and 1987.

The Archives would like to thank Mrs. Beatrice T. Wetmore for her help in transferring her husband's papers to the Archives. We also appreciate the assistance of the staff of the Division of Birds, National Museum of Natural History. The authors thank Susan Glenn and Pamela Henson for their thorough review of the manuscript.

Descriptive Entry:: The papers of Alexander Wetmore provide comprehensive documentation of his professional career and personal life. The collection is especially valuable in illustrating his research career in systematic ornithology and avian paleontology; his many collecting trips and field expeditions; his involvement in professional organizations, scientific societies, and social groups; his education and the development of his interest in ornithology; his administrative career at the United States National Museum (USNM) and the Smithsonian Institution; his family history; and personal matters. Less well represented in the collection is material concerning his brief tenure as Superintendent of the National Zoological Park, 1924-1925. Interested researchers should consult Smithsonian Archives Record Unit 74, National Zoological Park, Records, 1887-1965, and undated.

Wetmore was a prolific correspondent and nearly a third of this collection is made up of letters written and received between 1901 and 1977. The correspondence documents most aspects of his career and is particularly valuable in illustrating his research on recent and fossil birds. Wetmore exchanged letters with many of the prominent ornithologists and avian paleontologists of his day, and the correspondence is an important source of information on the history of both disciplines during the twentieth century. It is also helpful in documenting USNM and Smithsonian history from the mid-1920s to the early 1950s. Especially valuable are letters exchanged with USNM curators which concern field work, research programs, and exhibits. Wetmore corresponded with many foreign specialists, and several letters from British and European ornithologists contain descriptions of World War II and its effects on society and science. Also included are countless letters written by Wetmore giving information and advice to amateur ornithologists, bird watchers, and youngsters interested in birds.

A large file of correspondence, reports, fiscal records, publications, and related materials documents Wetmore's constant involvement in professional activities and national and international scientific affairs. His seventy-year membership in the American Ornithologists' Union is thoroughly illustrated. Included are files concerning Wetmore's work with the AOU Committee on Classification and Nomenclature, and his role in the preparation of the fifth edition of the Check-list of North American Birds. Also included are files concerning Wetmore's work as a delegate and President of meetings of the International Ornithological Congress. Records concerning his work as Secretary-General of the Eighth American Scientific Congress, and as United States Representative to the Inter-American Committee of Experts on Nature Protection and Wildlife Preservation provide documentation of initial inter-American cooperation on conservation issues. Also found are substantial records documenting his associations with the National Geographic Society; the Gorgas Memorial Institute for Tropical and Preventive Medicine; the Washington Biologists' Field Club; the Cosmos Club; and the Explorers Club. Contained in a separate series are records dealing with his work as Chairman of the National Academy of Sciences Daniel Giraud Elliot Award Committee.

Wetmore's work as a field ornithologist and scientific expedition member is documented from his first recorded observation of a Florida pelican in 1894 through his last collecting trip to Panama in 1966. The majority of records concerning his field work are found in three series. The first documents Wetmore's work prior to his appointment to the U.S. Biological Survey in 1910 and includes field notes, migration records, and lists made during his boyhood in Wisconsin; similar materials compiled during his college days in Lawrence, Kansas, and on trips to the western United States; and catalogues of his ornithological and natural history collections. The second series consists of correspondence, field notes, diaries, reports, expense records, and related materials documenting field work carried out for the U.S. Biological Survey and the Smithsonian Institution (with the exception of trips to Panama). Also included are records created during trips to professional meetings, trips to study museum specimens, and other official travel. The third series contains records concerning his field trips to Panama, 1944, 1946-1966. Also included is a file of permits used during his field investigations, as well as expense accounts from his official travel.

Photographic documentation of Wetmore's life and career is a major strength of the collection. Included are voluminous photographs, albums, lantern slides, 35mm color slides, motion pictures, and negatives documenting his field work and other official travel. Also included are portraits of Wetmore; photographs of Wetmore with family, friends, and colleagues; photographs from his boyhood; photographs of Smithsonian events, scientific meetings, and social gatherings; and photographs of professional colleagues.

The papers contain a file of collected materials documenting Wetmore's personal life and family history. The file includes correspondence with his immediate family and other relatives; various biographical information; genealogical data on his family; school and college records; papers and drawings from his early work on birds; congratulatory correspondence and letters of introduction and recommendation; transcripts of an oral history interview; and personnel records from his service in the federal government. Of special interest is Wetmore's "private zoo" - a card catalogue of species and subspecies named in his honor. A series of daily diaries and appointment books helps to illustrate his day-to-day activities.

Wetmore's twenty-eight-year administrative career at the USNM and Smithsonian is partially documented in the collection. Most of the records consist of routine correspondence inquiring about employment at the USNM. Also included are various files concerning Smithsonian activities, offices, and administrative matters.

The remainder of the collection primarily consists of materials relating to his research in ornithology and avian paleontology. Included is a large group of unpublished manuscripts, speeches, and radio talks prepared by Wetmore. Also included are numerous letters; specimen lists; notes; published manuscripts; field records; and publications relating to his research. Of special interest are original journals, lists, and correspondence from field work in Haiti by William Louis Abbott, 1916-1928, and Watson M. Perrygo, 1928-1929. The collection also contains a sample of original illustrations used in his publications on fossil birds; and manuscripts, proofs, drawings, and other materials from his magnum opus, The Birds of the Republic of Panama.

Also included in the collection are diplomas, certificates, and awards received by Wetmore, and typescript copies of correspondence between John Xantus and Spencer F. Baird.

Additional records documenting Wetmore's professional career can be found in the Smithsonian Archives. Researchers interested in Wetmore's career as Assistant Secretary in charge of the USNM and Secretary of the Smithsonian should consult Smithsonian Archives Record Units 192 and 46. Field reports written during several investigations he conducted for the U.S. Biological Survey can be found in Record Unit 7176, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Field Reports, 1860-1961. Records dealing with Wetmore's work on the fifth edition of the AOU Check-list of North American Birds are a part of record unit 7050, American Ornithologists' Union Collection, 1883-1977. An oral history interview (record unit 9504) conducted by the Archives in 1974 provides insight to all aspects of Wetmore's career. Record unit 9516, the Watson M. Perrygo oral history interviews, include many reflections on Wetmore by his long-time field companion.

A voluminous collection of Wetmore's field catalogues, field notes, lists, and other specimen-related records are housed in the Division of Birds, National Museum of Natural History.

Historical Note:: (Frank) Alexander Wetmore (1886-1978), ornithologist, avian paleontologist, and science administrator, was the sixth Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, serving from 1945 to 1952. He was born in North Freedom, Wisconsin, the son of Nelson Franklin and Emma Amelia (Woodworth) Wetmore. He developed an early interest in birds and at the age of eight made his first field journal entry - an observation on the pelican recorded on a family vacation to Florida in 1894. His first published paper, "My Experience with a Red-headed Woodpecker," appeared in Bird-Lore in 1900. By the time he entered the University of Kansas in 1905, Wetmore had made extensive natural history collections around his Wisconsin home and in Independence, Kansas.

Shortly after his arrival in Lawrence, Kansas, Wetmore received his first museum job as Assistant at the University Museum under Charles D. Bunker. His undergraduate career was interrupted on several occasions as he took jobs in Arizona, California, and Colorado to finance his education. He also used these opportunities to study and collect the native avifauna. Wetmore received the Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Kansas in 1912. Wetmore continued his education in Washington, D.C., receiving the Master of Science degree in 1916 and the Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1920 - both from George Washington University. He would later receive honorary doctorates from the University of Wisconsin, George Washington University, Centre College, and Ripon College.

Wetmore's career in the federal government began in 1910 when he was appointed an Agent for the Biological Survey, a bureau of the United States Department of Agriculture. During the summers of 1910-1911 he assisted on field investigations in Wyoming and Alaska. He traveled to Puerto Rico in late 1911 and spent nearly a year surveying the bird life of that and adjacent islands. In 1913, Wetmore was promoted to Assistant Biologist with the Biological Survey, and he moved to Washington to begin work in the program on the food habits of North American birds. His career with the Biological Survey was highlighted by constant field investigations which took him to most of the United States, as well as Canada, Mexico, and South America. Among his more important investigations were a study of the causes of waterfowl mortality around the Great Salt Lake, Utah, 1914-1916; a survey of North American birds that migrated to the southern part of South America, 1920-1921; and the leadership of the Tanager Exploring Expedition to the islands of the mid-Pacific, 1923. Wetmore was promoted to the rank of Biologist with the Survey in 1924.

As his professional status grew, Wetmore received offers of curatorial and research positions from several of the leading museums in America. Perhaps the most interesting came in 1920 when the American Museum of Natural History asked him to join the Roy Chapman Andrews Asiatic Expedition and take charge of the zoological collections. Wetmore declined this and several other offers. Finally, in November 1924, he accepted appointment as Superintendent of the National Zoological Park (NZP). He remained at the NZP until March 1925 when he was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian in charge of the United States National Museum (USNM). Wetmore held this position for nearly twenty years, when, in 1945, he was elected the sixth Secretary of the Smithsonian. He retired in 1952 and became a Research Associate of the Institution where he continued his research on recent and fossil birds.

Wetmore's administration of the USNM and Smithsonian during the era of the Great Depression and World War II faced many constraints. However, he managed to continue the Institution's basic research aims, while instituting improvements in its administrative operations and exhibits program. Among his most important accomplishments was a move toward professional management of the Institution by hiring specialists such as John E. Graf and John L. Keddy to assist with federal budgetary procedures and other administrative matters. He also steered the Smithsonian toward a period of exhibit modernization which was realized after his retirement. Two new bureaus were added to the Smithsonian during Wetmore's tenure as Secretary - the National Air Museum (now the National Air and Space Museum) and the Canal Zone Biological Area (now the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute).

Despite his administrative responsibilities at the Smithsonian, Wetmore continued an active research program in the field and the laboratory. He conducted several collecting expeditions to the American tropics between 1927 and 1940. When the outbreak of World War II restricted travel outside the country, he undertook a study of the birds of Shenandoah National Park in nearby Virginia. In the mid-1940s, Wetmore began a research program that would occupy his energies for the remainder of his life. Between 1946 and 1966 he took annual trips to Panama - making an exhaustive survey of the birds of the isthmus. This work culminated in the publication of his magnum opus, The Birds of the Republic of Panama. Three volumes of the work appeared during his life. The final volume was completed by his Smithsonian colleagues and published posthumously.

Wetmore was widely recognized as the dean of American ornithologists, and he worked extensively in the field of avian paleontology and as a systematic specialist. His bibliography contained over seven hundred entries; including 150 papers and monographs on fossil birds. He described 189 species and subspecies of birds new to science. Wetmore made enormous natural history collections, which were eventually donated to the Smithsonian. Included were 26,058 bird and mammal skins from North America, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean area; 4,363 skeletal and anatomical specimens; and 201 clutches of birds eggs. Fifty-six new genera, species, and subspecies of birds (both recent and fossil), mammals, amphibians, insects, mollusks, and plants were named in his honor - an assemblage which Wetmore called his "private zoo." Also named in his honor was the "Wetmore Glacier" in the Antarctic and the "Alexander Wetmore Bridge," a canopy bridge in the Bayano River Basin in Panama.

Wetmore was a member of countless professional organizations, scientific committees, conservation groups, and social clubs. He served many of the groups in elected or appointed capacities. He was a member of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) for seventy years and served as President from 1926 to 1929. For many years he was Chairman of the AOU Committee on Classification and Nomenclature and was instrumental in the publication of the fifth edition of the Check-list of North American Birds. Wetmore also had a long-term association with the National Geographic Society, serving as a Trustee, 1933-1976, and as Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Research and Exploration. He also authored several popular publications on birds for the Society.

Wetmore served as President of the Washington Academy of Sciences, 1927; the Washington Biologists' Field Club, 1928-1931; the Biological Society of Washington, 1929-1931; the Cosmos Club, 1938; the Explorers Club, 1944-1946; and the X International Ornithological Congress held at Uppsala, Sweden, 1950. He was Home Secretary of the National Academy of Sciences, 1951-1955, and a Trustee (or Director) of the Textile Museum of Washington, 1928-1952; the George Washington University, 1945-1962; and the Gorgas Memorial Institute for Tropical and Preventive Medicine, 1949-1976.

During his career at the Smithsonian, Wetmore was named to several national and international scientific committees. He was Secretary-General of the Eighth American Scientific Congress, 1940; United States Representative to the Inter-American Commission of Experts on Nature Protection and Wildlife Preservation, 1940; Vice-Chairman of the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics, 1945-1952; and Chairman of the Interdepartmental Committee on Research and Development, 1946.

His contributions to science resulted in many honors and awards. He was the recipient of the Otto Herman Medal of the Hungarian Ornithological Society, 1931; the Hubbard Medal of the National Geographic Society, 1957; the Brewster Medal, 1959, and the Elliott Coues Award, 1972, of the American Ornithologists' Union; the Explorers Club Medal, 1962; the Bartsch Award of the Audubon Naturalist Society, 1964; and the Arthur Allen Award of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, 1970. Wetmore married Fay Holloway in 1912, and a daughter, Margaret Fenwick, was born in 1916. After a long illness, his wife died in 1953. That same year he married Annie Beatrice Thielen. Wetmore died at his home in Glen Echo, Maryland, on December 7, 1978.

For more detailed biographical information on Wetmore, see Paul H. Oehser, "In Memoriam: Alexander Wetmore," The Auk, July 1980, vol. 97, no. 3, pp. 608-615; S. Dillon Ripley and James A. Steed, "Alexander Wetmore, June 18, 1886-December 7, 1978," Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 56, pp. 597-626, 1987; and John Sherwood, "His Field Notebook Was Started in 1894; It Is Not Yet Complete," The Washington Star, Thursday, 13 January 1977. A discussion of his contributions to paleornithology is found in Storrs L. Olson's "Alexander Wetmore and the Study of Fossil Birds" in "Collected Papers in Avian Paleontology Honoring the 90th Birthday of Alexander Wetmore," Storrs L. Olson, editor, Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology, 1976, no. 27, pp. xi-xvi.

Chronology:: June 18, 1886 -- Born in North Freedom, Wisconsin

1900 -- Wrote first published paper, "My experience with a Red-headed Woodpecker" (Bird-Lore, vol. II, pp. 155-156)

1905-1908, 1910 -- Assistant, University of Kansas Museum

1909 -- Assistant, Colorado Museum of Natural History

1910-1912 -- Agent, United States Bureau of Biological Survey

1910 -- Field work, Wyoming

1911 -- Field work, Alaska

1911-1912 -- Field work, Porto Rico

1912 -- Bachelor of Science, University of Kansas

October 13, 1912 -- Married Fay Holloway

1913-1923 -- Assistant Biologist, United States Bureau of Biological Survey

1914 -- Field work, Utah and California

1914-1915 -- Field work, Utah and Montana

1916 -- Master of Science, George Washington University

1916 -- Birth of daughter, Margaret Fenwick

1916 -- Field work, Utah

1916 -- Birds of Porto Rico (U.S. Dept. Agric. Bull. 326, pp. 1-140)

1917 -- Field work, North Carolina

1917-1918 -- Field work, Arkansas and Texas

1918 -- Field work, Western United States

1919 -- Field work, Florida; Arizona

1920 -- Doctor of Philosophy, George Washington University

1920-1921 -- Field work, South America

1921 -- Field work, Georgia

1922 -- Field work, South Carolina; Minnesota; North Dakota; Pennsylvania; Maryland

1923 -- In charge of the Tanager Exploring Expedition to the mid-Pacific islands

1924 -- Biologist, U.S. Bureau of Biological Survey

1924-1925 -- Superintendent, National Zoological Park

1925-1944 -- Assistant Secretary, Smithsonian Institution (in charge of the U.S. National Museum)

1926 -- Observations on the Birds of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile (U.S. National Museum, Bull. 133, pp.1-448)

1926 -- The Migration of Birds (Harvard University Press)

1926-1929 -- President, American Ornithologists' Union

1927 -- Field work, Haiti and Dominican Republic

1927 -- President, Washington Academy of Sciences

1927 -- Isidore Geoffroy St. Hilaire Medal, Societe Nationale d'Acclimitation de France

1928 -- Trip to study bird collections of museums in the western United States

1928-1931 -- President, Washington Biologists' Field Club

1928-1952 -- Trustee, Textile Museum of Washington

1929-1931 -- President, Biological Society of Washington

1930 -- A Systematic Classification for the Birds of the World (Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., vol. 76, art. 24, pp. 1-8). Revised and reprinted in 1934, 1940, 1948, 1951, and 1960.

1930 -- U.S. Delegate, VII International Ornithological Congress, Amsterdam; field work, Spain

1931 -- The Birds of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, by Wetmore and B. H. Swales (U.S. National Museum Bull. 155, pp. 1-483)

1931 -- Field work, Haiti

1931 -- Otto Herman Medal, Hungarian Ornithological Society

1931-1957 -- Chairman, American Ornithologists' Union Committee on Classification and Nomenclature of North American Birds

1932 -- Honorary D.Sc., George Washington University

1932 -- Field work, western United States

1933-1976 -- Trustee, National Geographic Society

1934 -- U.S. Delegate, VIII International Ornithological Congress, Oxford

1936 -- Field work, Guatemala

1937 -- Field work, Venezuela

1937-1978 -- Vice Chairman, Acting Chairman, and Chairman Emeritus, Committee on Research and Exploration, National Geographic Society

1938 -- President, Cosmos Club

1938 -- Chairman of U.S. delegation, IX International Ornithological Congress, Rouen, France

1939 -- Field work, Mexico

1940 -- A Check-list of the fossil birds of North America (Smiths. Misc. Coll., vol. 99, no. 4, pp. 1-81)

1940 -- Secretary-General, Eighth American Scientific Congress

1940 -- U.S. Representative, Inter-American Commission of Experts on Nature Protection and Wildlife Preservation

1940 -- Field work, Costa Rica

1941 -- Field work, Colombia

1941 -- Distinguished Service Award, University of Kansas

1944-1946 -- President, Explorers Club

1944, 1946-1966 -- Field work, Panama

1945 -- Alumni Award for Achievement in Science, George Washington University

1945-1952 -- Secretary, Smithsonian Institution

1945-1952 -- Vice-Chairman, National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics

1945-1962 -- Trustee, George Washington University

1946 -- Honorary D.Sc., University of Wisconsin

1947 -- Honorary D.Sc., Centre College of Kentucky

1947-1963 -- Chairman, Daniel Giraud Elliot Fund Award Committee, National Academy of Sciences

1948 -- Chairman, Interdepartmental Committee on Scientific Research and Development

1948 -- Orden de Merito, Carlos Manuel de Cespedes, Cuba

1949-1976 -- Member, Board of Directors, Gorgas Memorial Institute for Tropical and Preventive Medicine

1950 -- President, Academy of Medicine of Washington, D.C.

1950 -- President, X International Ornithological Congress, Uppsala, Sweden

1951-1955 -- Home Secretary, National Academy of Sciences

February 14, 1953 -- Death of Fay Holloway Wetmore

December 16, 1953 -- Married Annie Beatrice Thielen

1953-1978 -- Research Associate, Smithsonian Institution

1954 -- Field work, Venezuela

1957 -- Hubbard Medal, National Geographic Society

1959 -- Honorary D.Sc., Ripon College

1959 -- Brewster Medal, American Ornithologists' Union

1962 -- Explorers Club Medal

1963 -- Treasurer, XVI International Congress of Zoology

1964 -- Bartsch Award, Audubon Naturalist Society

1965 -- The Birds of the Republic of Panama, vol. 1 (Smiths. Misc. Coll., vol. 150, pp. 1-483)

1968 -- The Birds of the Republic of Panama, vol. 2 (Smiths. Misc. Coll., vol. 150, pt. 2, pp. 1-605)

1969 -- Field work, Netherlands Antilles

1970 -- Arthur Allen Medal, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology

1972 -- The Birds of the Republic of Panama, vol. 3 (Smiths. Misc. Coll., vol. 150, pt. 3, pp. 1-631)

1972 -- Elliott Coues Award, American Ornithologists' Union

1973 -- "Alexander Wetmore Bridge" dedicated in Panama

1975-1978 -- Honorary President, American Ornithologists' Union

1976 -- Collected Papers in Avian Paleontology Honoring the 90th Birthday of Alexander Wetmore, Storrs L. Olson, editor (Smiths. Contrib. to Paleobio., no. 27)

December 7, 1978 -- Death, Glen Echo, Maryland

1984 -- The Birds of the Republic of Panama, vol. 4 (Smiths. Misc. Coll., vol. 150, pt. 4, pp. 1-670)

Topic:: Ornithology Search this; Paleontology Search this; Conservation of natural resources Search this

Genre/Form:: Motion pictures (visual works); Manuscripts; Black-and-white photographs; Lantern slides; Color transparencies; Drawings

Citation:: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7006, Alexander Wetmore Papers

Identifier:: Record Unit 7006

See more items in:: Alexander Wetmore Papers

Archival Repository:: Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-sia-faru7006

Photographs of Reptiles and Amphibians

Extent:: 0.25 cu. ft. (1 half document box)

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Black-and-white photographs

Date:: 1922-1930, 1945 and undated

Descriptive Entry:: The collection contains photographic images of reptiles, chiefly snakes, crocodiles, horned toads, Komodo dragons, and iguanas, of specimens both in the wild and on museum display. The photographs were to illustrate popular articles on reptiles and some are in the form of photographs clipped from newspapers and mounted on board. Most were not created by Smithsonian personnel. Most are unlabelled, while a few have copyright registration numbers assigned by the Library of Congress.

Historical Note:: This collection was probably begun by Remington Kellogg of the United States National Museum, for whom see Record Unit 7170. Though Kellogg was a mammalogist, he also wrote popular illustrated articles in many aspects of zoology, including herpetology.

Topic:: Reptiles Search this; Amphibians Search this; Herpetology Search this; Snakes Search this; Crocodiles Search this; Horned toads Search this; Komodo dragon Search this; Iguanas Search this

Genre/Form:: Black-and-white photographs

Citation:: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7444, Photographs of Reptiles and Amphibians

Identifier:: Record Unit 7444

See more items in:: Photographs of Reptiles and Amphibians

Archival Repository:: Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-sia-faru7444

No Image Available

Box 1

Type:: Archival materials

Collection Citation:: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7444, Photographs of Reptiles and Amphibians

See more items in:: Photographs of Reptiles and Amphibians

Archival Repository:: Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:: ead_component:sova-sia-faru7444-refidd1e194

No Image Available

Folders 1-4 Photographs and Clippings

Container:: Box 1 of 1

Type:: Archival materials

Collection Citation:: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7444, Photographs of Reptiles and Amphibians

See more items in:: Photographs of Reptiles and Amphibians; Photographs of Reptiles and Amphibians / Box 1

Archival Repository:: Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:: ead_component:sova-sia-faru7444-refidd1e201

Leonhard Stejneger and Georg Herman Baur Collection

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials

Date:: circa 1850-1943

Descriptive Entry:: This collection consists of papers documenting the research of both Stejneger and Baur on tortoises. Much of the Baur material was created during his research for the planned USNM monograph on North American tortoises. The papers consist of correspondence, notes, manuscripts, lists, newspaper clippings, photographs, negatives, and drawings. Of special interest are color drawings executed by John H. Richard and Antonio Zeno Shindler.

Historical Note:: Leonhard Stejneger (1851-1943) was born in Norway. In 1881 he left for the United States and arrived in Washington, D.C., where he soon began working with the birds of the New World at the Smithsonian Institution with particular interest in aquatic birds. In December 1884, he was appointed Assistant Curator in the Department of Birds under Robert Ridgway, Curator. In 1889, after the resignation of Henry Crecy Yarrow, Honorary Curator of the Department of Reptiles and Batrachians, Stejneger became the first full-time Curator for the Department. In 1903 he served as Acting Head Curator of the Department of Biology for several months, and in 1911 he was appointed Head Curator of the Department of Biology after Frederick William True vacated the post. From that time until his death, Stejneger served both as Head Curator of the Department of Biology and Curator of the Division of Reptiles and Batrachians. He also chaired a Smithsonian committee which considered manuscripts for publication.

In addition to his herpetological and ornithological work, Stejneger was recognized as an authority on the fur seals of the North Pacific. He began his studies in this field when he was sent to the Commander Islands for the United States Signal Service in 1882, and made a number of trips to the area between then and 1922. In 1896, Stejneger was appointed to the International Fur Seal Commission by President Grover Cleveland. In connection with his fur seal work, Stejneger researched and published a biography of Georg Wilhelm Steller, 1936.

Stejneger also played an important role in international zoological meetings and was elected to the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature in 1898.

Georg Herman Baur (1859-1898) was born and educated in Germany. He came to the United States in 1884 to be Othniel Charles Marsh's assistant at Yale University. He later held faculty positions at Clark University and the University of Chicago. Baur's primary fields of study were comparative osteology and paleontology. At the time of his death, Baur was preparing a monograph on the tortoises of North America which was to be published by the United States National Museum (USNM).

Topic:: Herpetology Search this; Turtles Search this

Citation:: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7441, Leonhard Stejneger and Georg Herman Baur Collection

Identifier:: Record Unit 7441

See more items in:: Leonhard Stejneger and Georg Herman Baur Collection

Archival Repository:: Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-sia-faru7441

Collected Glass Plate Negatives of Panama

Extent:: 0.45 cu. ft. (3 3x5 boxes)

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Lantern slides; Glass negatives

Place:: Panama; San Blas Islands (Panama)

Date:: circa 1927-1932 and undated

Descriptive Entry:: This collection consists of glass plate negatives and lantern slides of Panama and its environs. The glass plate negatives are of plants, animals, and various sites in Panama. Included are many negatives of diseased palm trees and a few images of the San Blas Islands. The photographer of the negatives is unknown, as is their provenance. The lantern slides document the establishment of the laboratory on Barro Colorado Island (BCI), part of the United States Canal Zone Biological Area. The images primarily feature buildings and other facilities.

Topic:: Environmental laboratories Search this; Natural history Search this; Palms -- Panama Search this; Plants Search this; Animals Search this

Genre/Form:: Lantern slides; Glass negatives

Citation:: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7455, Collected Glass Plate Negatives of Panama

Identifier:: Record Unit 7455

See more items in:: Collected Glass Plate Negatives of Panama

Archival Repository:: Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-sia-faru7455

Charles D. Walcott Collection

Creator::: Walcott, Charles D. (Charles Doolittle), 1850-1927 Search this

Extent:: 108.59 cu. ft. (16 record storage boxes) (84 document boxes) (1 half document box) (1 12x17 box) (2 16x20 boxes) (8 5x8 boxes) (oversized materials and framed panoramas)

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Scientific illustrations; Diaries; Field notes; Black-and-white negatives; Black-and-white photographs; Glass negatives; Nitrate materials

Date:: 1851-1940 and undated

Introduction:: The Charles D. Walcott Collection Papers (Record Unit 7004) were given to the Smithsonian Institution by his wife, Mary Vaux Walcott, with certain more recent additions.

The Archives would like to thank Dr. Ellis L. Yochelson, United States Geological Survey, and Frederick J. Collier, Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, for their assistance in transferring items from the Walcott family and the Department for inclusion in this collection.

Descriptive Entry:: The Charles D. Walcott Collection documents his personal, professional, and official life as well as activities of his family. Included are papers from his scientific and educational activities at the local and national levels, his career as a paleontologist, his administrative career with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and to a lesser extent with the Smithsonian, and material on one of his sons' participation in World War I. Some of the collection postdates Walcott's life, including condolences to his family, an unpublished biography, correspondence between the biographer and Mrs. Walcott, and paleontological field notes by some of his colleagues.

For records relating to Walcott's family there are diaries; photographs; and correspondence with his children, his last two wives, and other family members. There is a considerable amount of material consisting of correspondence, photographs, memorabilia, publications, and official documents from the French and German governments concerning Benjamin Stuart Walcott's involvement with the Lafayette Flying Corps in France during World War I and efforts to establish a memorial in France for the Corps. Other personal records include legal documents; personal financial records; and family correspondence concerning financial investments in power companies, the prolonged illness and death of his son Charles, the death of his wife, Helena, and his daughter's travels through Europe.

Walcott's professional life is divided between his service with the USGS and the Smithsonian. Documenting his USGS years are photographs; speeches; scrapbooks; reports and correspondence from his work on forest reserves, the investigation of scientific work conducted by the federal government, and land reclamation; and annual reports. Walcott's Smithsonian career is documented primarily by correspondence written while serving as honorary curator of paleontology and Acting Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum. One scrapbook includes extensive correspondence from scientists, government officials, and friends upon the occasion of Walcott's appointment as Secretary of the Smithsonian. For a more complete record of Walcott's association with the Smithsonian, the records of the Office of the Secretary (Record Units 45 and 46), records of the Assistant Secretary, Acting (Record Unit 56), and two special series relating to the budget (Record Unit 49) and to the Research Corporation (Record Unit 51) should be consulted.

For Walcott's career as a paleontologist, there is documentation in his field notes; publications of his as well as those of others in related areas; manuscripts; diaries; and photographs, including panoramic views of the Rockies in Alberta, British Columbia, and Montana. In addition, there are paleontological field notes by Ray T. Bassler, Charles Elmer Resser, and Edward Oscar Ulrich.

Walcott's role in promoting and developing national science policy is partially covered in the records relating to his involvement in the National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council, Washington Academy of Sciences, and the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Included are legal documents, correspondence, committee minutes, reports, proceedings, financial statements, membership lists, and related materials. Additional material on the Washington Academy of Sciences can be found in Record Unit 7099. Records documenting Walcott's involvement in the administration and development of the other organizations exist at those institutions. His affiliation with the George Washington Memorial Association is documented with correspondence, trustees' minutes, histories of the Association, and drawings and plans for a building. For other national developments there is correspondence covering Walcott's participation on the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.

Other types of materials in this collection include certificates, diplomas, awards, and occasionally correspondence concerning his election to honorary and professional societies and the receipt of honorary degrees, and scrapbooks and diaries which touch on events throughout his life.

See also the online exhibition "Beauty in Service to Science: The Panoramas of Charles D. Walcott."

Historical Note:: Charles D. Walcott (1850-1927) was born in New York Mills, New York, and attended the Utica public schools and Utica Academy, but never graduated. He demonstrated an early interest in natural history by collecting birds' eggs and minerals; and, while employed as a farm hand, he began collecting trilobites. These he later sold to Louis Agassiz at Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology. Walcott began his professional scientific career in November 1876 when he was appointed as an assistant to James Hall, New York's state geologist. On July 21, 1879, Walcott joined the United States Geological Survey (USGS) as an assistant geologist. Shortly after arriving in Washington, D. C., he was sent to southwestern Utah to make stratigraphic sections. His later field work with the Survey included expeditions to the Appalachians, New England, New York, eastern Canada, and several Middle Atlantic states, as well as other parts of southwestern and western United States. From 1882 to 1893 he worked with the Survey's invertebrate Paleozoic paleontological collections, and in 1893 he was appointed Geologist in charge of Geology and Paleontology. He also served as an honorary curator of invertebrate Paleozoic fossils at the United States National Museum (USNM) from 1892 to 1907, and as Acting Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in charge of the USNM from 1897 to 1898. His fieldwork from this period resulted in several major publications, including The Paleontology of the Eureka District (1884), a study of fossils in Nevada; The Fauna of the Olenellus Zone (1888) concerning early North American Cambrian fossils; Correlation Papers on the Cambrian (1890); and Fossil Medusae (1898). In 1894 Walcott was appointed Director of the USGS. Serving until 1907, he greatly expanded the functions of the agency and was successful in increasing federal appropriations. In 1891 Congress had given the President the authority to establish public forests, but it was not until 1897 that the administration of the forest reserves was placed under the USGS. Walcott was instrumental in having legislation passed to enforce the preservation of forest reserves and to add additional land to the reserve program. His predecessor at the USGS initiated an arid land reclamation program in 1888 which Walcott continued as part of his forest reserve program. In 1902 he established the Hydrographic Branch to administer the program; but four years later the Branch, since renamed the Reclamation Service, became a separate federal agency. He also created the Division of Mineral Resources to experiment with coal combustion. In 1907 it was renamed the Bureau of Mines. At the request of President Theodore Roosevelt in 1903, Walcott served as chairman of a committee to study the scientific work being conducted by the federal government.

Walcott was appointed Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution on January 31, 1907, and resigned from the USGS in April 1907. His administration at the Smithsonian was marked by numerous accomplishments, including the completion of the National Museum Building (now the National Museum of Natural History) in 1911. He was also successful in convincing Detroit industrialist Charles Lang Freer to donate his extensive Oriental art collection and money for a building during his lifetime rather than after Freer's death, as was originally intended. Walcott also set up the National Gallery of Art (predecessor to the National Museum of American Art) as a separate administrative entity in 1920. To administer Frederick G. Cottrell's gift of patent rights to his electrical precipitator, the Research Corporation was formed in 1912, with revenue from this patent, as well as future ones, to be used to advance scientific research at the Smithsonian and other educational institutions. Walcott served on the Corporation's Board of Directors for several years. To further increase the Smithsonian's endowment, Walcott was planning a major fundraising effort; but this was not pursued following his death an February 9, 1927. In 1922, he and his wife established a fund in their names at the Smithsonian to support paleontological research.

Despite his many administrative responsibilities as Secretary, Walcott was able to find time to continue his research and collecting of fossils from the Cambrian and Ordovician periods, with primary focus on the Canadian Rockies. In 1909 he located Cambrian fossils near Burgess Pass above Field, British Columbia. The following season he discovered the Burgess shale fauna, which proved to be his greatest paleontological discovery. Most of this research was published in various volumes of the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections from 1908-1931. His one major publication during this period was Cambrian Brachiopoda, published in 1912. Walcott continued to return to the Canadian Rockies for most seasons through 1925, when he made his last field expedition. As one of the foremost scientific figures in Washington, Walcott helped to establish several organizations with international renown and restructure existing national organizations. In 1902, Walcott, along with several other prominent individuals, met with Andrew Carnegie to establish the Carnegie Institution of Washington as a center for advanced research and training in the sciences. Walcott served the Institution in several administrative capacities. He was also instrumental in convincing Carnegie that the Institution should have laboratories built for scientists rather than use his gift solely for research grants.

Elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1896, Walcott played a role in having the Academy become more actively involved in national science policy by serving in many official capacities. In addition to serving on innumerable committees, he held the offices of treasurer, vice president, president, and council member. He was also appointed to two presidential committees--Timber Utilization and Outdoor Recreation--in 1924 and was reappointed to both in 1926. He was the Academy's first recipient of the Mary Clark Thompson Medal. Following his death, his wife established the Charles Doolittle Walcott Fund for achievements in Cambrian research.

In 1916 the Academy, at the request of President Woodrow Wilson, created the National Research Council within the Academy to assist the federal government in the interest of national preparedness. Walcott, as one who met with Wilson, became actively involved in the organization of the Council by sitting on many of its committees, including one which planned for the present headquarters of the Council and the Academy. Walcott contributed significantly to the development of American aviation. He pressed for the establishment of the National Advisory Committee for Aviation, which was a predecessor of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. He was instrumental in establishing air mail service, organizing the Committee on Aerial Photographic Surveying and Mapping, and writing the Air Commerce Act of 1926. Besides his scientific activities, Walcott lent his influence to other groups, such as the George Washington Memorial Association. That group attempted to create a memorial to Washington by forming an institution to promote science, literature, and the arts, just as Washington had proposed should be done.

Walcott was married three times - to Lura Ann Rust (d. 1876), to Helena Breese Stevens (d. 1911), and to Mary Morris Vaux (d. 1940). By his second wife he had four children: Charles Doolittle, Sidney Stevens, Helen Breese, and Benjamin Stuart. Charles died while a student at Yale, and Benjamin was killed in action in France while flying for the Lafayette Flying Corps. In 1914 Walcott married Mary Morris Vaux, who, while accompanying him on his field trips, studied and painted North American wildflowers. Her work was published in five volumes by the Smithsonian in 1925.

Although Walcott never received an academic degree, he was the recipient of numerous honorary degrees from colleges and universities in the United States and Europe. His colleagues recognized his contribution to paleontology by awarding him the Bigsby and Wollaston Medals from the Geological Society of London; the Gaudry Medal of the Geological Society of France; and the Hayden Medal from the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. He also served as a founder and president, 1899-1910, of the Washington Academy of Sciences; president of the Cosmos Club, 1898; president, 1915-1917, of the Washington Branch of the Archeological Institute of America; and president, 1925-1927, of the American Philosophical Society.

Chronology:: March 31, 1850 -- Born in New York Mills, New York

1858-1868 -- Attended public schools in Utica, New York, and Utica Academy

1863 -- Began collecting natural history specimens

1871 -- Moved to Trenton Falls, New York, to work on William P. Rust's farm and began collecting trilobites

January 9, 1872 -- Married Lura Am Rust

1873 -- Sold collection of fossils to Louis Agassiz at Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology

January 23,1876 -- Lura Ann Walcott died

November 1876 -- Appointed assistant to Janes Hall, state geologist of New York

1876 -- Joined American Association for the Advancement of Science

July 21, 1879 -- Appointed Assistant Geologist, United States Geological Survey (USGS)

1879 -- Assisted Clarence Edward Dutton in Grand Canyon region in south-central Utah and the Eureka district in Nevada

July 1, 1882 -- Placed in charge of Division of Invertebrate Paleozoic Paleontology at USGS

1882 -- Elected Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science

-- Field work in Nevada and Grand Canyon

1883 -- Promoted to Paleontologist, USGS

-- Field work in Grand Canyon and Cambrian studies in Adirondacks and northwestern Vermont

1884 -- Field work in Cambrian fossils in western Vermont; coal deposits in central Arizona; and Lower Paleozoic of Texas' central mineral region; Published first major paper The Paleontology of the Eureka District (USGS Monograph 8)

1885 -- Field work on Cambrians in Highland Range of central Nevada; Permian fossils of southwestern Utah; and Cambrian fossils in Wasatch Mountains near Salt Lake City

1886 -- Published "Classification of the Cambrian System in North America"

-- Cambrian field work in northern New York and western Vermont

1887 -- Cambrian field work in New York, western Massachusetts, and southwestern Vermont

1888 -- Married Helena Breese Stevens; Attended International Geological Congress in London; Placed in charge of all invertebrate paleontology at USGS; Published The Fauna of the Olenellus Zone which discusses Cambrian fossils in North America; Field work in Wales and on Canadian-Vermont border

May 17, 1889 -- Son Charles Doolittle born

1889 -- Cambrian field work in North Carolina, Tennessee, Mohawk Valley of New York, Vermont, and Quebec

1890 -- Published Correlation Papers on the Cambrian; Cambrian strata field work in New York and Vermont and Ordovician strata field work in Colorado Springs, Colorado

1891 -- Field work in New York, Colorado, and Appalachians from Virginia to Alabama

October 2, 1892 -- Son Sidney Stevens born

1892 -- Placed in charge of all paleontological work at USGS; Field work in southern Pennsylvania and western Maryland

1892-1907 -- Honorary curator of invertebrate Paleozoic fossils at United States National Museum (USNM)

January 1, 1893 -- Appointed Geologist in charge of Geology and Paleontology, USGS

1893 -- Vice President, Section E (Geology and Geography), American Association for the Advancement of Science; Examined Lower Paleozoic rocks in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee; Prepared paleontological exhibition for Chicago's Columbian Exposition

August 20, 1894 -- Daughter Helen Breese born

1894 -- Placed in charge of all paleontological collections at USNM; Appointed Director, USGS; Field work in central Colorado and White Mountain Range in California and Nevada

1895 -- Cambrian field work in Montana, Idaho, and Massachusetts

July 8, 1896 -- Son Benjamin Stuart born

1896 -- Joined National Academy of Sciences (NAS); Field work in eastern California and western Nevada and Franklin Mountains near El Paso, Texas

January 27, 1897 -- Appointed Acting Secretary in Charge of the USNM

1897 -- Conducted examination of forest reserves and national parks in Black Hills, Big Horn Mountains, and Inyo Mountains

June 30, 1898 -- Resigned as Acting Assistant Secretary in Charge of the USNM

1898 -- Field work in Lexington, Virginia; Teton Forest Reserve, Wyoming; Belt Mountains near Helena, Montana; and Idaho; President of the Cosmos Club, Washington, D.C.; Published Fossil Medusae (USGS Monograph 30)

1899 -- Field work in Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and Quebec; One of the founders of the Washington Academy of Sciences

1899-1911 -- President of the Washington Academy of Sciences

1900 -- Field work in Montana and Rhode Island

1901 -- Field work in Pennsylvania

January 4, 1902 -- One of the founders of the Carnegie Institution of Washington (CIW) and Secretary of the Board of Incorporators

1902 -- Member of the Advisory Committee on Geology and Advisory Committee on Geophysics of CIW

1902-1905 -- Secretary of Board of Trustees and of Executive Committee of CIW

1902-1922 -- Member, Executive Committee of Board of Trustees of CTW

1902-1923 -- Member of Council of NAS

1902-1927 -- Member, Board of Trustees, CIW

1903 -- Head of Board of Scientific Surveys, CIW; Field work in Uinta Mountains, Utah; House Range of western Utah; Snake River Range of eastern Nevada; Chairman of committee to study scientific work conducted by federal government

1904-1913 -- Honorary Curator, Department of Mineral Technology, USNM

1905 -- Field work in Montana's Rocky Mountains and Cambrian fossils of Utah's House Range

January 31, 1907 -- Appointed Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution

April 1907 -- Resigned as Director of the USGS

1907 -- Field work at Mount Stephen, Castle Mountains, Lake Louise, and Mount Bosworth in British Columbia

1907-1917 -- Vice President of NAS

1908 -- Field work in Montana, British Columbia, and Alberta

1909 -- Found Cambrian fossils near Burgess Pass above Field, British Columbia

1910 -- Found Burgess shale fauna

June 20, 1911 -- National Museum Building (now the National Museum of Natural History) completed

July 11, 1911 -- Wife Helena died in train accident in Bridgeport, Connecticut

1911 -- Field work in British Columbia

1912 -- Field work in Alberta and British Columbia; Published Cambrian Brachiopoda (USGS Monograph 51)

April 7, 1913 -- Son Charles Doolittle died

1913 -- Burgess shale work in Robson Park district, British Columbia, and in Jasper Park, Alberta

June 30, 1914 -- Married Mary Morris Vaux

1914 -- Field work in Glacier, British Columbia, and White Sulphur Springs and Deep Creek Canyon, Montana

1914-1927 -- Vice Chairman, Board of Trustees, CIW

1915 -- Living algae field work in Yellowstone National Park and West Gallatin River; fossil field work in Arizona 1915-1917; President, Washington Branch of the Archeological Institute of America

1915-1919 -- Chairman, Executive Committee of National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics

June 30, 1916 -- Elected member of National Research Council (NRC)

October 1916 -- Freer Gallery of Art building construction begun

1916 -- Field work in British Columbia and Alberta

1916-1923 -- First Vice Chairman, NRC

December 12, 1917 -- Son Benjamin Stuart died in military action in France

1917 -- Appointed member of NRC's Executive Committee, Aeronautics Committee, and Geology and Paleontology Committee; Chairman, NRC's Military Committee; Burgess shale field work around Lake MacArthur and in Vermilion River Valley

1917-1922 -- Chairman, Executive Committee, CIW

1917-1923 -- President, NAS

June 1918 -- Helped organize National Parks Educational Committee (became National Parks Association in 1919)

1918 -- Field work in Alberta; Member, NRC's Interim Committee; Chairman, NRC's Military Division and Section on Aeronautics

1918-1919 -- Chairman, National Parks Educational Committee

1919 -- Field work in Alberta; Chairman, NRC's Committee on Scientific Men as Reserve officers in Reorganized Army; Chairman, NRC's Committee on Removal of Offices of National Research Council; Chairman, NRC's Committee on Representation of United States at International Meetings to be held at Brussels

1919-1920 -- Member, NRC's Committee on General Policy and Solicitation of Funds; Chairman, NRC's Government Division

1919-1922 -- Member, NRC's Committee on Federal Grants for Research; Chairman, NRC's Committee on Publication of "The Inquiry" Results

1919-1924 -- Member, NRC's Research Information Service

1919-1925 -- Member, NRC's Executive Board

1919-1926 -- Member, National Parks Association's Executive Committee

1919-1927 -- Chairman, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics

-- Chairman, NRC's Division of Federal Relations; Member, NRC's Executive Committee of Division of Federal Relations

1920 -- Field work in Alberta

1920-1921 -- Member, NAS's Federal Relations Committee

1920-1922 -- Chairman, Committee on Budget (jointly with NAS and NRC); Member, NRC's Committee on Building Stone and Committee on Building Plans

1921 -- Field work in Alberta

1921 -- Freer Gallery of Art building completed; Received first Mary Clark Thompson Medal from NAS

1921-1924 -- President, National Parks Association

1921-1927 -- Chairman, NRC's Executive Committee of Division of Federal Regulations

1922 -- Field work in Alberta and British Columbia; Established Charles D. and Mary Vaux Walcott Fund at Smithsonian

1922-1923 -- Member, NRC's Committee on Stabilization of Permanent Foundations; Chairman, Committee on Finance (jointly with NAS and NRC)

1922-1925 -- Member, NRC's Committee on Building; Member, NRC's Committee on Policies

1923 -- Field work in Alberta and British Columbia; President, American Association for the Advancement of Science; Freer Gallery of Art opened

1923-1924 -- Chairman, Committee on Dedication of the New Building (jointly with NAS and NRC)

1923-1925 -- Member, NRC's Interim Committee; Member, Executive Committee, Committee on Exhibits in the New Building (jointly with NAS and NRC)

1923-1927 -- Second Vice Chairman, NRC

1924 -- Field work in Alberta and British Columbia

1924-1925 -- Member, Committee on Exhibits (jointly with NAS and NRC)

1925 -- Field work in Alberta; Life Member, American Association for the Advancement of Science

1925-1927 -- President, American Philosophical Society

1926 -- Helped draft Air Commerce Act of 1926

1926-1927 -- Board of Trustees, National Parks Association

February 9, 1927 -- Died in Washington, D.C.

Topic:: Geology Search this; Aeronautics Search this; Paleontology Search this

Genre/Form:: Scientific illustrations; Diaries; Field notes; Black-and-white negatives; Black-and-white photographs; Glass negatives; Nitrate materials

Citation:: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7004, Charles D. Walcott Collection

Identifier:: Record Unit 7004

See more items in:: Charles D. Walcott Collection

Archival Repository:: Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-sia-faru7004

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