17.56 cu. ft. (35 document boxes) (1 folder oversize material)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Architectural drawings
Floor plans
Illustrations
Manuscripts
Date:
1930-1932, 1937-1984 and undated, with related records from 1882
Introduction:
The Archives would like to thank Frederick J. Collier and Martin A. Buzas for their assistance in the transfer of these records to the Archives.
Descriptive Entry:
The Chairman's Files, Department of Paleobiology, Records, represent the
administrative history of both the last fifteen years of the Department of Geology and the first ten
years of the Department of Paleobiology after the Department of Geology was divided into two
separate departments. This collection provides strong documentation of research, reviews of the
departments, the Exhibits Modernization Program, and the construction of the East Wing of the
Natural History Building and the Museum Support Center. Although the records primarily
document the activities of the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), documentation
relating to the close relationship with scientists in the United States Geological Survey (USGS) is
also included.
Series 1, 2, and 3 contain administrative documents for the Departments of Geology and
Paleobiology, including annual reports (1963-1982), budget requests and plans of operation
(1963-1984), and research progress reports written by staff members (1963-1980). Memoranda
and management reports are also included in these series, providing more detailed information on
certain requests and reports. In addition, series 8 contains administrative correspondence for the
Department of Paleobiology between various institutional officers and department personnel. It is
worthy to note that the quantity of material documenting the Department of Geology is
substantially less than for the Department of Paleobiology and documentation of daily activity is
much more sparse.
The chairman's administrative files for the Department of Paleobiology contained in series 5
provide a more detailed view of the department. This division includes administrative
memoranda, incoming and outgoing correspondence, and general records. Although these
documents span the twenty year period of the departmental records, a separate set of
administrative and institutional files was maintained that represents administrative and
institutional activities only during the tenure of Martin A. Buzas as chairman between 1977 and
1982. These files can be found in series 6.
Series 4 consists of research proposals and grant allotments for the staff of both departments.
The files document proposals both within the Smithsonian and to outside funding agencies.
These files also provide documentation of the types of research undertaken by the scientists
during a twenty year time period.
Subject files from the Departments of Geology and Paleobiology are found in series 7. These
files contain information about specific aspects and activities of the departments as well as
institutional activities relevant to the departments. Significant affiliations between the
departments and the Paleontology and Stratigraphy Branch of the USGS are represented in these
files, as well as detailed documentation of the construction of the East Wing of the National
History Building and the Museum Support Center. Also included is documentation of the
symposium between the Department of Paleobiology and the Institute of Paleozoology of the
Polish Academy of Sciences and the Paleontology Department of the University of Warsaw, held
in Poland during August and September of 1968.
All divisions within the Departments of Geology and Paleobiology are represented in annual
reports, research progress reports, and budget requests. However, series 9 and 10 contain the
correspondence and subject files for the Division of Invertebrate Paleontology and Paleobotany
(Department of Geology) and therefore, provide detailed documentation of this division's
activities. The correspondence includes both public and professional inquiries; however, only
correspondence files for correspondents beginning with letters between K and Z have survived.
Of special interest are the nineteenth century correspondence between David Starr Jordan and
Gardiner Greene Hubbard and the substantial amount of correspondence documenting the early
career of G. Arthur Cooper. Records for the Division of Vertebrate Paleontology can be found in
Record Units 156 and 248. Field notes, manuscripts, and photographs for the Divisions of
Vertebrate and Invertebrate Paleontology and Paleobotany can be found in Record Unit 7264.
Series 11 contains museum exhibition scripts and provides extensive documentation of the
development of the new paleontology halls as part of the Exhibits Modernization Program during
the early 1960s. Committee reports and plans documenting another exhibit renovation plan
undertaken in the 1970s can also be found in this series.
Series 12 contains blueprints and mechanical drawings for items constructed for the
Departments of Geology and Paleontology. Of special interest are drawings of a sink constructed
for G. Arthur Cooper for the acid-etching program he began at the museum. Please note that the
documents contained in this series are housed off-site, and it is recommended that researchers
make prior arrangements with the reference staff when requesting this material.
Additional information about the Department of Paleobiology can be found in Record Unit
7318, the G. Arthur Cooper Papers, 1904-1987, 1993, with related material from 1865-1892 and
Record Unit 84, Department of Geology, Biographical File.
Chronology:
1930 -- Ray S. Bassler appointed head curator, Department of Geology
1938 -- C. W. Gilmore, curator of Vertebrate Paleontology, discovers skeleton of a large sauropod dinosaur of the family Titanosauridae, the first of its kind found in North America
1948 -- William F. Foshag appointed head curator, Department of Geology
1954 -- Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology begun
1956 -- William F. Foshag dies; G. Arthur Cooper appointed head curator, Department of Geology
1957 -- United States National Museum divided into National Museum of Natural History and the National Museum of History and Technology
June 3, 1961 -- Hall of Fossil Plants and Invertebrate Animals; Hall of Fossil Fishes, Amphibians, and Primitive Reptiles; and Hall of Age of Mammals in North America opened
1962 -- Oceanography Program begun
1962-1963 -- Moved to office space in East Wing of the Natural History Building
October 15, 1963 -- Department of Geology divided into Departments of Mineral Science and Paleobiology. G. Arthur Cooper appointed chairman of Department of Paleobiology
June 25, 1963 -- Hall of Dinosaurs and Other Reptiles opened
1963 -- Program of International Paleobiology (PIP) formulated
1966 -- Scanning Electron Microscope installed in department
1967 -- Advisory Committee Review of Department of Paleobiology
1967 -- Porter M. Kier appointed chairman, Department of Paleobiology
1968 -- Conference between staff of the Department of Paleobiology and both the Institute of Paleozoology of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Paleontology Department at the University of Warsaw
1972 -- Richard E. Grant appointed chairman, Department of Paleobiology
1977 -- Martin A. Buzas appointed chairman, Department of Paleobiology
1982 -- Advisory Committee Review of Department of Paleobiology
1982 -- Ian G. Macintyre appointed chairman, Department of Paleobiology
May 16, 1983 -- Museum Support Center opened
Historical Note:
The paleontological collections of the United States National Museum (USNM) were
located in the Department of Geology, from its creation in 1880 until its dissolution in 1963. The
Department of Geology had three divisions devoted to paleontology: Vertebrate Paleontology,
Invertebrate Paleontology, and Paleobotany. The Department of Geology was led by Ray S.
Bassler as head curator between 1930-1948. He was succeeded by William H. Foshag,
1948-1956, and G. Arthur Cooper, 1957-1963.
The Department of Paleobiology was created in the National Museum of Natural History
(NMNH) on October 15, 1963, with the division of the former Department of Geology into two
departments: Paleobiology and Mineral Sciences. The Department of Paleobiology was
organized into three divisions: Paleobotany, Invertebrate Paleontology, and Vertebrate
Paleontology. G. Arthur Cooper assumed the chairmanship for the department with Francis M.
Hueber, Richard S. Boardman, and Charles Lewis Gazin appointed as division heads,
respectively. Cooper was succeeded as chairman by Porter M. Kier, 1967-1972, Richard E.
Grant, 1972-1977, Martin A. Buzas, 1977-1982, and Ian G. Macintyre, 1982- .
The annual report for 1964 noted two reasons for the division. First, the character and
administrative needs of departmental practitioners of mineral sciences and paleobiology were
recognized as obstructions to productive research. With their divergent activities, difficulties
arose regarding the fair allocation of resources and administrative responsibilities. In addition,
the emphasis in the field of paleontology began shifting away from the use of fossils for
stratigraphic and geological applications to a study of the biological aspects of fossils. Zoological
or botanical training became a significant addition to geological training. By using the term
"paleobiology" to denote departmental activities, the institution recognized this shift toward
reconstructing and interpreting paleoenvironments.
The establishment of a separate Department of Paleobiology provided the necessary impetus
for further growth in the field of paleontology at the Smithsonian. In 1933, five curatorial
positions were devoted to paleontological collections: Ray S. Bassler (invertebrates), G. Arthur
Cooper (invertebrates), Charles Lewis Gazin (vertebrates), Charles W. Gilmore (vertebrates), and
Charles E. Resser (invertebrates). In 1948, following the end of the Second World War, the staff
numbered six including: Ray S. Bassler, Arthur L. Bowsher, G. Arthur Cooper, David H. Dunkle,
Charles Lewis Gazin, and Alfred R. Loeblich, Jr. The department continued to grow, numbering
nine in 1963 (R. S. Boardman, Porter M. Kier, Richard Cifelli, E. G. Kauffman, Francis M.
Hueber, Martin A. Buzas, Charles Lewis Gazin, David H. Dunkle, and Nicholas Hotton III) and
nineteen in 1984 (Walter H. Adey, Anna K. Behrensmeyer, Richard H. Benson, Richard S.
Boardman, Martin A. Buzas, Alan H. Cheetam, Richard Cifelli, Robert J. Emry, Richard E.
Grant, Nicholas Hotton III, Francis M. Hueber, Porter M. Kier, Kenneth M. Towe, Ian G.
Macintyre, James F. Mello, Jack W. Pierce, Clayton E. Ray, Daniel J. Stanley, and Thomas R.
Waller).
Research on the national paleontological collections is also conducted by paleontologists
from the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Researchers from both organizations have
always maintained close working relationships, and this is documented in the files.
The growth of both the staff and the collections placed a strain on museum facilities. This
problem was temporarily relieved with the opening of the East Wing of the Natural History
Building in 1962, and the Museum Support Center in 1983. Even with these additions, space
allocation and staff positions always fell short of what was needed. Outside reviews of its
programs in both 1967 and 1982 also emphasized these problems.
In the 1960s, the paleontological exhibit halls underwent extensive renovation as part of the
museum Exhibits Modernization Program. In 1966, modern research was facilitated by the
acquisition of a Scanning Electron Microscope.