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SIA RU007173, Miller, Gerrit S (Gerrit Smith) 1869-1956, Gerrit Smith Miller, Jr., Papers, 1908-1940

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Summary

Creator:
Miller, Gerrit S (Gerrit Smith) 1869-1956
Title:
Gerrit Smith Miller, Jr., Papers, 1908-1940
Dates:
1908, 1908-1940
Notes:
Gerrit Smith Miller, Jr., (1869-1956) was born in Peterboro, New York, and grew up on a large estate in central New York. In this relatively isolated setting and through the influence of his great uncle, an ornithologist, Miller developed an early interest in natural history. Following his graduation from Harvard in 1894, Miller joined the Biological Survey in the Department of Agriculture and worked under Clinton Hart Merriam. In 1898 he joined the United States National Museum as Assistant Curator of Mammals and in 1909 became Curator of that Division. He continued in that position until 1940 when he retired and remained as an Associate in biology at the Smithsonian Institution until his death
Miller's major contributions to mammalogy were his series of checklists of North American mammals, 1901, 1912, and 1924; THE FAMILIES AND GENERA OF BATS, 1907; and the CATALOGUE OF THE MAMMALS OF WESTERN EUROPE IN THE COLLECTION OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM, 1912. He also was an early critic of the claimed discovery of the Piltdown Man in England. He published several papers on the controversy and corresponded with many of the principal investigators. Another of his fields of interest was primate behavioral patterns and their possible influence on the beginnings of human social development
Summary:
Miller's papers include personal material concerning awards and his investigation of Christian Science; material on mammalogical research including extensive correspondence with Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas of the British Museum; and material on Miller's research with primates, especially the Piltdown Man and primate behavioral patterns
Topic:
Mammalogy
Subjects:
Miller, Gerrit S (Gerrit Smith) 1869-1956, Thomas, Michael Rogers Oldfield 1858-1929
Form/Genre:
Photographs, Collection descriptions
Local Number:
SIA RU007173
Physical Description:
0.5 linear meter

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

Record Unit 7173

Miller, Gerrit S, (Gerrit Smith), 1869-1956

Gerrit Smith Miller, Jr, Papers, 1908-1940

Repository: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Washington, D.C. Contact us at osiaref@si.edu.
Creator: Miller, Gerrit S, (Gerrit Smith), 1869-1956
Title: Gerrit Smith Miller, Jr, Papers
Dates: 1908-1940
Quantity: 0.5 linear meter.
Collection: Record Unit 7173
Language of Materials: English

Historical Note

Gerrit Smith Miller, Jr., (1869-1956) was born in Peterboro, New York, and grew up on a large estate in central New York. In this relatively isolated setting and through the influence of his great uncle, an ornithologist, Miller developed an early interest in natural history. Following his graduation from Harvard in 1894, Miller joined the Biological Survey in the Department of Agriculture and worked under Clinton Hart Merriam. In 1898 he joined the United States National Museum as Assistant Curator of Mammals and in 1909 became Curator of that Division. He continued in that position until 1940 when he retired and remained as an Associate in biology at the Smithsonian Institution until his death.

Miller's major contributions to mammalogy were his series of checklists of North American mammals, 1901, 1912, and 1924; The Families and Genera of Bats, 1907; and the Catalogue of the Mammals of Western Europe in the Collection of the British Museum, 1912. He also was an early critic of the claimed discovery of the Piltdown Man in England. He published several papers on the controversy and corresponded with many of the principal investigators. Another of his fields of interest was primate behavioral patterns and their possible influence on the beginnings of human social development.

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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

Miller's papers include personal material concerning awards and his investigation of Christian Science; material on mammalogical research including extensive correspondence with Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas of the British Museum; and material on Miller's research with primates, especially the Piltdown Man and primate behavioral patterns.

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This collection is indexed under the following access terms. These are links to collections with related topics, persons or places.

Name

Subject

Physical Characteristics of Materials in the Collection

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Preferred Citation

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7173, Miller, Gerrit S, (Gerrit Smith), 1869-1956, Gerrit Smith Miller, Jr, Papers

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Container List

Series 1

CORRESPONDENCE, PHOTOGRAPHS AND RELATED MATERIAL CONCERNING AWARDS, BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CHRISTIAN SCIENCE INVESTIGATIONS, 1914, 1918, 1922-1929, 1934.

Box 1

Folder 1 Certificates of election to The Academy of Natural Sciences (1914), as a Collaborator in the Direction of Biological Studies by the Secretary of Public Affairs of Mexico (1918) and to the American Philosophical Society (1927). Also includes a letter of congratulations from Alexander Wetmore on Miller's receiving of the Joseph Leidy medal from the Academy of Natural Science (1934).

Box 1 of 5

Folder 2 Photographs of Miller and of the Division of Mammals.

Box 1 of 5

Folder 3 Bibliography of Miller, 1918-1929.

Box 1 of 5

Folders 4-6 Correspondence concerning investigations by Miller of testimonies of healing through Christian Science printed in The Christian Science Journal and Christian Science Sentinal, 1924-1928.

Box 1 of 5

Box 2

Folder 1 Correspondence concerning testimonies of healing and what Miller considered misrepresentations of various persons printed in The Christian Science Journal and Christian Science Sentinal, 1922-1928.

Box 2 of 5

Series 2

CORRESPONDENCE, MANUSCRIPTS AND RELATED MATERIAL CONCERNING GENERAL MAMMALOGY, 1908-1924, 1927-1930, 1933.

Box 2

Folder 2 Correspondence with Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas of the British Museum (Natural History), 1908-1924, 1927-1928.

Box 2 of 5

Folder 3 Correspondence and material concerning Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas including news accounts of his suicide, letters from his doctor, Wilfred H. Osgood and Reginald F. A. Oldfield and a photograph, 1929-1930.

Box 2 of 5

Folder 4 Correspondence with S. F. Harmer, Keeper of Zoology at the British Museum (Natural History) concerning the publication of the Catalogue of the Mammals of Western Europe, 1909-1910.

Box 2 of 5

Folder 5 Plate 2 for "Mammals eaten by Indians, Owls and Spaniards in the coast region of the Dominican Republic," 1929.

Box 2 of 5

Folder 6 Typescript, with corrections, of "Note on the Native Rat of the Marquesas Islands" 15 December 1933.

Box 2 of 5

Folder 7 Undated manuscript of "The status of Noctilio leporinus leporinus and Noctilio leporinus mastivus."

Box 2 of 5

Folder 8 Letterpress book containing copies of manuscripts by Gerrit Smith Miller, Jr. including:

Box 2 of 5
"A New Chipmunk from Northeastern China," 1898
"Description of a new bat from Lower California," 1898
"List of bats collected by Dr. W. L. Abbott in Siam," 1898
"Notes on the arctic red-backed mice," 1898
"Description of a new genus and species of microtine rodent from Siberia," 1898
"An instance of local temperature control of the distribution of mammals," 1898
"Notes on the naked-tail armadillos," 1899
"Description of a new vole from eastern Siberia," 1899
"A new vole from Hall Island, Bering Sea," 1899
"A new polar bear from Labrador," 1899
"Two new glossophagine bats from the West Indies," 1899
"Directions for preparing study specimens of small mammals," 1899
"The voles collected by W. L. Abbott in Central Asia," 1899
"A new fossil bear from Ohio," 1899
"A new moose from Alaska," 1899
"Descriptions of two new gray foxes," 1899
"Descriptions of six new American rabbits," 1899
"The dogbanes of the District of Columbia," 1899
"A new treefrog from the District of Columbia," 1899
"Descriptions of three new free-tailed bats," 1899
"History and characters of the family Natalidae," 1899
"The bats of the genus Monophyllos," 1900
"A new shrew from Turkestan," 1900
"A bat of the genus Lichonycteris in South America," 1900
"The systematic name of the Cuban red bat," 1900
"The Scotophilos pachyomus of Tomes a valid species," 1900
"The systematic name of the large noctule bat of Europe," 1900
"Note on the Vespertilio blythii of Tomes," 1900
"A new subgenus for Lepus idahoensis," 1900
"The generic name Erotomys not invalidated by Anaptogonia," 1900
"The status and nomenclature of the Eastern Fox Squirrels"
"Three new bats from the Island of Curacao," 1900
"Preliminary revision of the European red backed mice," 1900
"Seven new rats collected by Dr. W. L. Abbott in Siam," 1900
"Descriptions of two new squirrels from Trong, Lower Siam," 1900
"The giant squirrels of Burmah and the Malay Peninsula," 1900
"Note on Micronycteris brachyotis (Dobson) and M. microtis Miller," 1900
"The Vespertilio concinnus of Harrison Allen," 1900
"Antennaria solitaria near the District of Columbia," 1900

Folder 9 Letterpress book containing copies of manuscripts by Gerrit Smith Miller Jr. including:

Box 2 of 5
"Mammals collected by Dr. W. L. Abbott on islands in the South China Sea," 1900
"A collection of small mammals from Mount Coffee, Liberia," 1900
"A new free-tailed bat from Central America," 1900
"A new gerbille from eastern Turkestan," 1900
"A second collection of bats from the Island of Curacao," 1900
"A new bat from Peru," 1900
"A new mouse deer from Lower Siam," 1900
"Mammals collected by Dr. W. L. Abbott on Pulo Lankawi and the Butang Island," 1900
"Mammals collected by Dr. W. L. Abbott on the Natuna Islands," 1901
"A new deer from Costa Rica," 1901
"A new squirrel from Borneo," 1901
"Five new shrews from Europe," 1901
"A new dormouse from Italy," 1901
"The subgenus Rhonosciuras of Trouessart," 1901
"Descriptions of three new Asiatic shrews," 1901
"A new shrew from Switzerland," 1901
"The Alpine varying hare," 1901
"A new name for Mus obscurus Miller," 1901
Report for fiscal year ending June 30, 1901 for the Division of Mammals
"A new pig from Sumatra," 1902
"The mammals of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands," 1902
"A new kanchil from Lower Siam," "A new rabbit from southern Texas," 1902
"Note on the Chilonycteris davyi fulvus of Thomas," 1902
"Note on the Vespertilio in cautus of J. A. Allen," 1902

Box 3

Folder 1 Letterpress book containing copies of manuscripts by Gerrit Smith Miller, Jr. including:

Box 3 of 5
"Mammals collected by Dr. W. L. Abbott in the region of the Indragiri River, Sumatra," 1902
"Twenty new American bats," 1902
"Mammals collected by Dr. W. L. Abbott on the coast and islands of northwest Sumatra," 1903
"An overlooked specimen of Chilonycteris psilotis," 1902
"The common Nyctinomus of the Greater Antilles," 1902
"A second specimen of Pterygistes azoreum Thomas," 1902
"The status of Nyctinomus nevadensis (H. Allen)," 1902
"The generic position of Nyctinomus orthotis H. Allen," 1902
"The external characters of Brachy phylla nana Miller," 1902
"A new bat from the Island of Dominica," 1902
"Two new tropical Old World bats," 1902
"Descriptions of eleven new Malayan mouse deer," 1903
"The technical name of the Indian flying fox," 1903
"The short-leaved sundew in Virginia," 1903
"Notes on the bats collected by William Palmer in Cuba," 1904
"Seventy new Malayan mammals," 1903
"A new nataline bat from the Bahamas," 1903
"A new squirrel from Lower Siam," 1903
"A new hare from Greece," 1903
"A second specimen of Euderma maculatom," 1903
"Descriptions of two new mole rats," 1903

Folders 2-3 Letterpress books containing copy of manuscript of "Catalogue of the land mammals of Western Europe," 1912.

Box 3 of 5

Series 3

CORRESPONDENCE, NOTES, PHOTOGRAPHS, MANUSCRIPTS AND RELATED MATERIAL CONCERNING PRIMATES, 1914-1919, 1929-1940.

Box 4

Folder 1 Correspondence and notes on primates, circa 1914-1919, 1929-1935.

Box 4 of 5

Folder 2 Correspondence concerning the controversy over the Piltdown man. Principal correspondents include Glover M. Allen, J. A. Allen, Theodore D. A. Cockerell, William K. Gregory, Martin Hinton, Ned Hollister, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Ales Hrdlicka, Arthur Keith, George Grant MacCurdy, J. H. McGregor, T. Chalmers Mitchell, Charles H. O'Donoghue, W. P. Pycraft, Louis R. Sullivan, David Waterston, and A. Smith-Woodward, 1915-1919.

Box 4 of 5

Folder 3 Correspondence and material concerning missing links including eugenics material. A principal correspondent is Henry Fairfield Osborn. 1929-1931.

Box 4 of 5

Folder 4 Typescript with corrections of "The Foot of the Mountain Gorilla," circa 1932.

Box 4 of 5

Folder 5 Notes and typescript of "Notes on the Gibbons in the United States National Museum," 1932-1933.

Box 4 of 5

Folder 6 Notes and typescript of "Three Macaques and Seven Names," circa 1933.

Box 4 of 5

Folder 7 Observations by Henry Ellsworth Ewing on mating habits of primates in the National Zoological Park, 1933.

Box 4 of 5

Folder 8 Copy of portion of Zeitschrift fur die Gesamte Anatomie. Ergebnisse der Anatomie und Entwicklungsgeschichte, vol. 31, p. 124. 1934. Notes on the human chin by Franz Weidenreich.

Box 4 of 5

Folder 9 Typescripts, with corrections, of "Ape-like Neanderthal Man" and "The Meaning of Neanderthal Man's Ape-like Peculiarities." 1937-1940.

Box 4 of 5

Folder 10 Notes on skull measurements, circa 1938.

Box 4 of 5

Folder 11 Notes on synonymy of the primate genera.

Box 4 of 5

Folder 12 Notes on classification of primates.

Box 4 of 5

Folder 13 Manuscript concerning human customs as a function of primate behavioral patterns.

Box 4 of 5

Folder 14 Photographs of primates and mounted skeletons of primates.

Box 4 of 5

Box 5

Photographs - Mostly from a European Trip.

Box 5 of 5

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