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Finding Aids to Personal Papers and Special Collections in the Smithsonian Institution Archives

Record Unit 7085

Benjamin, Marcus, 1857-1932.

Marcus Benjamin Papers, 1886-1929

Repository:Smithsonian Institution Archives, Washington, D.C. Contact us at osiaref@si.edu.
Creator:Benjamin, Marcus, 1857-1932.
Title:Marcus Benjamin Papers
Dates:1886-1929
Quantity:2.93 cu. ft. (5 document boxes) (1 12x17 box)
Collection:Record Unit 7085
Language of Materials:English
Summary:

These papers relate to Benjamin's biographical information project as a staff member of Appleton's Cyclopaedia of American Biography. The contents consist mostly of questionnaires returned by subjects, or correspondence with subjects or relatives and friends of subjects, along with newspaper articles, printed works, and obituaries. Also included are page proofs.

Persons for whom there is more than the minimum biographical information are: Alexander Graham Bell, John Shaw Billings, Charles Frederick Chandler, Edward Drinker Cope, Elliott Coues, Charles H. Davis (includes Henry Cabot Lodge letters to Benjamin), Clarence Edward Dutton, William Gilson Farlow, George Gibbs, Asa Gray, Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden, Samuel P. Langley, John Lawrence LeConte, Elias Loomis, Edward Sylvester Morse, Simon Newcomb, and John Wesley Powell.

Historical Note

Marcus Benjamin (1857-1932) was a chemist, sanitary engineer, and editor of several scientific publications. He was a contributor and staff member of Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography from 1883 to 1902, and served as editor of the United States National Museum from 1896 to 1931.

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Introduction

This finding aid was digitized with funds generously provided by the Smithsonian Institution Women’s Committee.

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Descriptive Entry

These papers relate to Benjamin's biographical information project as a staff member of Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography. The contents consist mostly of questionnaires returned by subject, or correspondence with subjects or relatives and friends of subjects, along with newspaper articles, printed works, and obituaries. Also included are page proofs.

Persons for whom there is more than the minimum biographical information are: Alexander Graham Bell, John Shaw Billings, Charles Frederick Chandler, Edward Drinker Cope, Elliot Coues, Charles H. Davis (includes Henry Cabot Lodge letters to Benjamin), Clarence Edward Dutton, William Gilson Farlow, George Gibbs, Asa Gray, Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden, Samuel P. Langley, John LeConte, Elias Loomis, Edward Sylvester Morse, Simon Newcomb, and John Wesley Powell.

Apparently, these papers resulted from a biographical project begun by Benjamin in 1887. Some letters included by Benjamin's correspondents predate 1887. However, a few post-1891 items have been filed here by others than Benjamin. There is also some correspondence unrelated to the biographical information project pertaining to publications of articles and Smithsonian administration. Correspondents include Cleveland Abbe; Henry L. Abbot; Alexander Agassiz; John H. Alexander (Ref); Joel Asaph Allen; Alexander Dallas Bache (Ref); Spencer F. Baird; George Frederick Barker; John Gross Barnard; Alexander Graham Bell; Alexander Melville Bell; Marcus Benjamin; John Shaw Billings; William H. Brewer; William Keith Brooks; Alexis Caswell; Charles Frederick Chandler; William Chauvenet; James Henry Coffin (Ref); Cyrus Ballou Comstock; Josiah Parsons Cooke; Edward Drinker Cope; Elliott Coues; James Mason Craft; John Call Dalton (Ref); Edward Salisbury Dana; James Dwight Dana; George Davidson; Charles H. Davis (Ref); Henry Draper (Ref); John W. Draper; Clarence Edward Dutton; James Buchanan Eads; George Engelmann (Ref); William Gilson Farlow; William Ferrel; Robert Fletcher; John Fries Frazer (Ref); William More Gabb (Ref); Albert Gallatin (Ref); Frederick Augustus Genth; George Gibbs (Ref); Grove Karl Gilbert; Asa Gray; Arnold Henry Guyot; James Hadley; Samuel Stehman Haldeman (Ref); Asaph Hall; James Hall; Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden; Joseph Henry (Ref); Eugene Woldemar Hilgard; Julius Eramus Hilgard; George William Hill; Henry Barker Hill; Edward Hitchcock; John Edwards Holbrook; Edward Singleton Holden; Joseph Stillman Hubbard; Andrew Atkinson Humphreys; Thomas Sterry Hunt; Charles Loring Jackson; Thomas Jefferson (Ref); Walter Rogers Johnson; Clarence King; Jonathan Homer Lane; Samuel P. Langley; John Lawrence Leconte; Joseph Leconte; Joseph Leidy; John Peter Lesley; Charles Leo Lesquereaux; Miers Fisher Longstreth; Elias Loomis; John Alden Loring; Joseph Lovering; Theodore Lyman; Frederick August Mahan (Ref); George Perkins Marsh (Ref); Othniel Charles Marsh; Alfred Marshall Mayer; Fielding Bradford Meek (Ref); Montgomery C. Meigs; Thomas Corwin Mendenhall; Henry Mitchell; Silas Weir Mitchell; Lewis Henry Morgan; Edward Sylvester Morse; Henry Morton; John Strong Newberry; Simon Newcomb; Hubert Anson Newton; John Newton; William Augustus Norton; James Edward Oliver; Alpheus Spring Packard; Benjamin Peirce (Ref); Charles Sanders Peirce; Christian Henry Frederick Peters (Ref); Edward Charles Pickering; Louis Francois De Pourtales; John Wesley Powell; Raphael Pumpelly; Frederick Ward Putnam; Charles Rau; William DeC. Ravenel; Ira Remsen; Fairman Rogers; Henry Darwin Rogers; James Blythe Rogers; Robert Empie Rogers; William Augustus Rogers; William Barton Rogers; Ogden Nicholas Rood; Henry Augustus Rowland; Lewis Morris Rutherford; Joseph Saxton (Ref); Charles Anthony Schott; Samuel H. Scudder; William Sellers; Benjamin Silliman; John Lawrence Smith; Sidney Irving Smith; Charles Wardwell Stiles; William Stimpson; Theodore Strong; William Starling Sullivant; John Torrey; Joseph Gilbert Totten; William Trelease; John Trowbridge; William Petit Trowbridge; James Hammond Trumbull; Edward Tuckerman; Addison Emory Verrill; Francis Amasa Walker; Gouveneur Kemble Warren; Josiah Dwight Whitney; William Dwight Whitney; Joseph Winlock; Horatio C. Wood; Amos Henry Worthen; Arthur William Wright; Jeffries Wyman; Charles Augustus Young.

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Preferred Citation

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7085, Marcus Benjamin Papers

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Container List

Series 1

GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE, 1913-1929.

Box 1

Folder 1 Correspondence, 1913-1929

Box 1 of 6

Series 2

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION.

Box 1

Folder 2 Abbot, Henry L.

Box 1 of 6

Folder 3 Agassiz, Alexander

Box 1 of 6

Folder 4 Alexander, John H.

Box 1 of 6

Folder 5 Allen, Joel Asaph

Box 1 of 6

Folder 6 Bache, Alexander Dallas

Box 1 of 6

Folder 7 Baird, Spencer F.

Box 1 of 6

Folder 8 Barker, George Frederick

Box 1 of 6

Folder 9 Barnard, John Gross

Box 1 of 6

Folder 10 Bell, Alexander Graham

Box 1 of 6

Folder 11 Billings, John Shaw

Box 1 of 6

Folder 12 Brewer, William H.

Box 1 of 6

Folder 13 Brooks, William Keith

Box 1 of 6

Folder 14 Caswell, Alexis

Box 1 of 6

Folder 15 Chandler, Charles Frederick

Box 1 of 6

Folder 16 Chauvenet, William

Box 1 of 6

Folder 17 Coffin, James Henry

Box 1 of 6

Folder 18 Comstock, Cyrus Ballou

Box 1 of 6

Folder 19 Cooke, Josiah Parsons

Box 1 of 6

Folder 20 Cope, Edward Drinker

Box 1 of 6

Folder 21 Coues, Elliott

Box 1 of 6

Folder 22 Craft, James Mason

Box 1 of 6

Folder 23 Dalton, John Call

Box 1 of 6

Folder 24 Dana, Edward Salisbury

Box 1 of 6

Folder 25 Dana, James Dwight

Box 1 of 6

Folder 26 Davidson, George

Box 1 of 6

Folder 27 Davis, Charles H.

Box 1 of 6

Folder 28 Draper, Henry

Box 1 of 6

Folder 29 Draper, John W.

Box 1 of 6

Box 2

Folder 1 Dutton, Clarence Edward

Box 2 of 6

Folder 2 Eads, James Buchanan

Box 2 of 6

Folder 3 Engelmann, George

Box 2 of 6

Folder 4 Farlow, William Gilson

Box 2 of 6

Folder 5 Ferrel, William

Box 2 of 6

Folder 6 Fletcher, Robert

Box 2 of 6

Folder 7 Frazer, John Fries

Box 2 of 6

Folder 8 Gabb, William More

Box 2 of 6

Folder 9 Genth, Frederick Augustus

Box 2 of 6

Folder 10 Gibbs, George

Box 2 of 6

Folder 11 Gilbert, Grove Karl

Box 2 of 6

Folder 12 Gray, Asa

Box 2 of 6

Folder 13 Guyot, Arnold Henry

Box 2 of 6

Folder 14 Hadley, James

Box 2 of 6

Folder 15 Haldeman, Samuel Stehman

Box 2 of 6

Folder 16 Hall, Asaph

Box 2 of 6

Folder 17 Hall, James

Box 2 of 6

Folder 18 Hayden, Ferdinand Vandeveer

Box 2 of 6

Box 3

Folder 1 Henry, Joseph

Box 3 of 6

Folder 2 Hilgard, Eugene Woldemar

Box 3 of 6

Folder 3 Hilgard, Julius Erasmus

Box 3 of 6

Folder 4 Hill, George William

Box 3 of 6

Folder 5 Hill, Henry Barker

Box 3 of 6

Folder 6 Hitchcock, Edward

Box 3 of 6

Folder 7 Holbrook, John Edwards

Box 3 of 6

Folder 8 Holden, Edward Singleton

Box 3 of 6

Folder 9 Hubbard, Joseph Stulman

Box 3 of 6

Folder 10 Humphreys, Andrew Atkinson

Box 3 of 6

Folder 11 Hunt, Thomas Sterry

Box 3 of 6

Folder 12 Jackson, Charles Loring

Box 3 of 6

Folder 13 Johnson, Walter Rogers

Box 3 of 6

Folder 14 King, Clarence

Box 3 of 6

Folder 15 Lane, Jonathan Homer

Box 3 of 6

Folder 16 Langley, Samuel P.

Box 3 of 6

Folder 17 LeConte, John Lawrence, and LeConte, Joseph

Box 3 of 6

Folder 17A LeConte, John Lawrence - Photograph (Accession 06-174)

Box 3 of 6

Folder 18 Leidy, Joseph

Box 3 of 6

Folder 19 Lesley, John Peter

Box 3 of 6

Folder 20 Lesquereaux, Charles Leo

Box 3 of 6

Folder 21 Longstreth, Miers Fisher

Box 3 of 6

Folder 22 Loomis, Elias

Box 3 of 6

Folder 23 Loring, John Alden

Box 3 of 6

Folder 24 Lovering, Joseph

Box 3 of 6

Folder 25 Lyman, Theodore

Box 3 of 6

Folder 26 Mahan, Frederick Augustus

Box 3 of 6

Folder 27 Marsh, George Perkins

Box 3 of 6

Folder 28 Marsh, Othniel Charles

Box 3 of 6

Folder 29 Mayer, Alfred Marshall

Box 3 of 6

Folder 30 Meek, Fielding Bradford

Box 3 of 6

Box 4

Folder 1 Meigs, Montgomery C.

Box 4 of 6

Folder 2 Mendenhall, Thomas Corwin

Box 4 of 6

Folder 3 Mitchell, Henry

Box 4 of 6

Folder 4 Mitchell, Silas Weir

Box 4 of 6

Folder 5 Morgan, Lewis Henry

Box 4 of 6

Folder 6 Morse, Edward Sylvester

Box 4 of 6

Folder 7 Morton, Henry

Box 4 of 6

Folder 8 Newberry, John Strong

Box 4 of 6

Folder 9 Newcomb, Simon

Box 4 of 6

Folder 10 Newton, Hubert Anson

Box 4 of 6

Folder 11 Newton, John

Box 4 of 6

Folder 12 Norton, William Augustus

Box 4 of 6

Folder 13 Oliver, James Edward

Box 4 of 6

Folder 14 Packard, Alpheus Spring

Box 4 of 6

Folder 15 Peirce, Benjamin

Box 4 of 6

Folder 16 Peirce, Charles Sanders

Box 4 of 6

Folder 17 Peters, Christian Henry Frederick

Box 4 of 6

Folder 18 Pickering, Edward Charles

Box 4 of 6

Folder 19 Pourtales, Louis Francois de

Box 4 of 6

Folder 20 Powell, John Wesley

Box 4 of 6

Folder 21 Pumpelly, Raphael

Box 4 of 6

Folder 22 Putnam, Frederick Ward

Box 4 of 6

Folder 23 Rau, Charles

Box 4 of 6

Folder 24 Remsen, Ira

Box 4 of 6

Box 5

Folder 1 The Rogers Brothers

Box 5 of 6

Folder 2 Rogers, Fairman

Box 5 of 6

Folder 3 Rogers, William Augustus

Box 5 of 6

Folder 4 Rood, Ogden Nicholas

Box 5 of 6

Folder 5 Rowland, Henry Augustus

Box 5 of 6

Folder 6 Rutherford, Lewis Morris

Box 5 of 6

Folder 7 Schott, Charles Anthony

Box 5 of 6

Folder 8 Scudder, Samuel H.

Box 5 of 6

Folder 9 Sellers, William

Box 5 of 6

Folder 10 Silliman, Benjamin

Box 5 of 6

Folder 11 Smith, John Lawrence

Box 5 of 6

Folder 12 Smith, Sidney Irving

Box 5 of 6

Folder 13 Stimpson, William

Box 5 of 6

Folder 14 Strong, Theodore

Box 5 of 6

Folder 15 Sullivant, William Starling

Box 5 of 6

Folder 16 Torrey, John

Box 5 of 6

Folder 17 Totten, Joseph Gilbert

Box 5 of 6

Folder 18 Trowbridge, John

Box 5 of 6

Folder 19 Trowbridge, William Petit

Box 5 of 6

Folder 20 Trumbull, James Hammond

Box 5 of 6

Folder 21 Tuckerman, Edward

Box 5 of 6

Folder 22 Verrill, Addison Emory

Box 5 of 6

Folder 23 Walker, Francis Amasa

Box 5 of 6

Folder 24 Warren, Gouveneur Kemble

Box 5 of 6

Folder 25 Whitney, Josiah Dwight

Box 5 of 6

Folder 26 Whitney, William Dwight

Box 5 of 6

Folder 27 Winlock, Joseph

Box 5 of 6

Folder 28 Wood, Horatio C.

Box 5 of 6

Folder 29 Worthen, Amos Henry

Box 5 of 6

Folder 30 Wright, Arthur William

Box 5 of 6

Folder 31 Wyman, Jeffries

Box 5 of 6

Folder 32 Young, Charles Augustus

Box 5 of 6

Box 6

Agassiz, Alexander

Box 6 of 6

Langley, Samuel P.

Box 6 of 6

Meek, Fielding Bradford

Box 6 of 6

Morse, Edward Sylvester

Box 6 of 6

Newton, Hubert Anson

Box 6 of 6