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

Record Unit 7170

Kellogg, Remington, 1892-1969

Remington Kellogg Papers, circa 1871-1969 and undated

Repository:Smithsonian Institution Archives, Washington, D.C. Contact us at osiaref@si.edu.
Creator:Kellogg, Remington, 1892-1969
Title:Remington Kellogg Papers
Dates:circa 1871-1969 and undated
Quantity:6 cu. ft. (12 document boxes)
Collection:Record Unit 7170
Language of Materials:English
Summary:

The main body of these papers consists of correspondence regarding research in zoology and marine geologic formations. The papers also document Kellogg's relationships with various institutions, notably the Bureau of Biological Survey, the Carnegie Institution of Washington, and the National Research Council. Also included are photographs, some Kellogg manuscripts, and a personal information file. For additional papers documenting Kellogg's career, see Record Units 7165 and 7434.

Historical Note

Born in 1892, A. Remington Kellogg entered the University of Kansas in 1911 intending a concentration in entomology. His change to mammalogy was largely a result of the influence of Charles Dean Bunker, curator of birds and mammals in the Museum of Natural History at the University. Kellogg served as a taxonomic assistant under Bunker from 1913 to 1916. During his undergraduate summers Kellogg was employed by the Bureau of Biological Survey, U.S. Department of Agriculture, to conduct field surveys of plant and animal life. He received his A.B. in January 1915, and his M.A. in 1916 from the University of Kansas at Lawrence.

In the fall of 1916 Kellogg decided to continue his studies in zoology at the University of California at Berkeley with the aid of a teaching fellowship. By this time Kellogg had become interested in the study of the evolution of marine mammals. At Berkeley he became acquainted with Dr. John Campbell Merriam, who fostered Kellogg's interest in the Pacific Coast Tertiary formations and their marine fossil remains. The association with Merriam was a close and lasting one that had a profound effect on Kellogg's career.

After brief service in World War I (1918-1919), Kellogg resumed his teaching fellowship for one semester. However, in January 1920 he accepted a position in Washington, D.C., as an assistant biologist for the Bureau of Biological Survey; he remained with the Biological Survey until 1928. His projects for the Biological Survey did not include marine mammalogy. Fortunately, Dr. Merriam was appointed president of the Carnegie Institution of Washington and arranged for Kellogg to become a research associate of that institution in 1921. Although the Carnegie Institution research had to be carried on after official hours at the Biological Survey, research grants from the Institution allowed Kellogg to continue his study of marine mammals, and he remained in that capacity until 1943. Drawing from his own original studies as well as current literature, he wrote "The History of Whales--Their Adaptation to Life in the Water" in 1928, for which he was awarded his Ph.D. by the University of California.

Kellogg's association with the United States National Museum (USNM) originated with his after hours research with the extensive collection of marine mammals while still in the employ of the Bureau of Biological Survey. The affiliation proved valuable, and in 1928 he was named assistant curator of mammals under Gerrit Smith Miller, Jr. He served as assistant curator until Miller's retirement, when he became curator of the Division of Mammals, a position he held from 1941 to 1948. In 1948 he was named director, United States National Museum. Kellogg held the directorship until his retirement in 1962. From May 1958 to 1962 he also served as an assistant secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. After retirement he intensified his study of fossil marine mammals at the Smithsonian and continued publication of his findings until his death in May 1969.

The international regulation of whaling was another subject of great importance to Remington Kellogg. Recognized as an authority in the field of cetology, he was sent to Berlin in 1930 as a delegate to a conference of experts on whaling matters held under the auspices of the League of Nations. In 1937 Kellogg was appointed as the State Department's representative to the International Conference on Whaling at London, and in 1946 he chaired the Washington Conference, which formulated the International Convention providing for the establishment of the International Whaling Commission. He was United States Commissioner on the International Whaling Commission from 1947 to 1967, and chairperson from 1952 to 1954.

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Descriptive Entry

The main body of the collection consists of Kellogg's personal incoming and outgoing correspondence with fellow zoologists and geologists regarding research in zoology and marine geologic formations. A significant amount of correspondence with institutions also exists, notably with the Bureau of Biological Survey, the Carnegie Institution of Washington, and the National Research Council. For other institutional correspondence, material may be found with that of specific individuals in the employ of an institution. The remainder of the collection consists of a personal information file; a collection of photographs documenting exhibit openings, Smithsonian staff retirement functions, and Kellogg's membership in various organizations; and divisional histories of the National Museum of Natural History prepared for the Smithsonian Centennial.

Correspondents include: Clinton G. Abbott, Othenio Abel, Charles Christopher Adams, Theodor G. Ahrens, Glover Morrill Allen, American Society of Mammalogists, Copley Amory, Rudolph Martin Anderson, Harold Elmer Anthony, Arctic Research Laboratory Advisory Board, Merle Fowler Bancroft, Thomas Barbour, F. J. F. Barrington, Seth Bertram Benson, Fritz Berckhemer, Edward Wilber Berry, Edward Willard Berry, Clarence Birdseye, Else Bostelmann, Karl Brandt, James C. Brash, Barnum Brown, William Alanson Bryan, Charles Dean Bunker, Bureau of Biological Survey, William Henry Burt, Angel Cabrera, Charles L. Camp, Leonard Carmichael, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Clifford N. Carver, Ermine Cowles Case, E. Burnham Chamberlain, Bruce Lawrence Clark, Robert Ervin Coker, Charles Wythe Cooke, Harold J. Coolidge, Jr., Ira E. Cornwall, Luther Sheeleigh Cressman, Giorgio Dal Piaz, Pirie Davidson, William B. Davis, Herbert Girton Deignan, A. B. Van Deinse, Donald Ryder Dickey, W. O. Dietrich, Alban T. A. Dobson, Abraham Lincoln Dryden, Emmett Reid Dunn, Lucius R. Eastman, Maxim Kondradovich Elias, Robert Kendall Enders, William Louis Engels, Barton Warren Evermann, Francis Charles Fraser, Eustace L. Furlong, Eugene Maximilian Karl Geiling, Charles W. Gilmore, Raymond Maurice Gilmore, Walter Granger, Madison Grant, William King Gregory, Robert Fiske Griggs, Joseph Grinnell, Melville Bell Grosvenor, Herman Gunter, Eugene Raymond Hall, William John Hamilton, Jr., G. Dallas Hanna, Sidney Frederic Harmer, Francis Harper, Robert Torrens Hatt, Curtis J. Hesse, F. Gilbert Hindsdale, Arthur T. Hopwood, William Temple Hornaday, Edgar Billings Howard, Alfred Brazier Howell, International Whaling Commission, David Starr Jordon, Journal of Mammalogy, Theodor Just, A. Remington Kellogg, Henry Higgins Lane, Frederic Augustus Lucas, Marcus Ward Lyon, Jr., Alfredo Augusto de Oliveira Machado e Costa, William D. Matthew, C. Hart Merriam, Charles Warren Merriam, John Campbell Merriam, Franklin Metcalf, Gerrit Smith Miller, Jr., Roy L. Moodie, Charles Morrice, Robert Cushman Murphy, National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council, Gladwyn Kingsley Noble, Walter Collins O'Kane, Henry Fairfield Osborn, Wilfred Hudson Osgood, A. P. Ousdal, Earl Leroy Packard, Evgenii Nikanorovich Pavlovsky, John Charles Phillips, Edward Alexander Preble, Sydney Prentice, Henry Cushier Raven, Alfred S. Romer, Carlos Rusconi, Wilford Edwin Sanderson, Hurbert G. Schneck, George Gaylord Simpson, Earle Sloan, Hans Winge Sorensen, Herman Augustus Spoehr, Eberhard Stechow, Henryk Bronislaw Stenzel, Ruben Arthur Stirton, Chester Stock, George Linius Streeter, Ernst Stromer Von Reichenbach, J. Magruder Sullivan, Edward H. Taylor, Charles Haskins Townsend, T. Wayland Vaughan, Charles D. Walcott, Lewis Hill Weed, Alexander Wetmore, George Bernays Wislocki, Howard I. Wordell.

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Preferred Citation

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7170, Remington Kellogg Papers

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Container List

Series 1

INCOMING AND OUTGOING CORRESPONDENCE, 1916-1969. ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY BY CORRESPONDENT.

Box 1

Ab - Bry

Box 1 of 12

Box 2

Buc - Fo

Box 2 of 12

Box 3

Fra - Harmer

Box 3 of 12

Box 4

Harper - Hy

Box 4 of 12

Box 5

In - Merriam, Charles Warren

Box 5 of 12

Box 6

Box 7

Par - Sl

Box 7 of 12

Box 8

Sm - Z; unidentified correspondents

Box 8 of 12

Series 2

INSTITUTIONAL CORRESPONDENCE, 1916-1943. ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY.

Box 9

Bureau of the Biological Survey, Department of Agriculture, 1916-1928 (includes Kellogg personnel problems with the Bureau).

Box 9 of 12

Carnegie Institution of Washington - Administrative, 1923-1942 (includes W. M. Gilbert, Vannevar Bush).

Box 9 of 12

Carnegie Institution of Washington - Bursar, 1921-1943 (2 folders).

Box 9 of 12

Carnegie Institution of Washington - Office of Publications, 1923-1940.

Box 9 of 12

National Research Council, National Research Fellowship Board in the Natural Sciences, 1939.

Box 9 of 12

Series 3

INFORMATION FILE, CA. 1871-1933 AND UNDATED. ARRANGED BY SUBJECT.

Box 9

Cetacea, 1891-1927 and undated (includes clippings, notes, bibliography, statistics, articles).

Box 9 of 12

Herpetology: Reptilia, ca. 1871-1880; 1921-1927 (includes abstracts of articles, drawings, photographs).

Box 9 of 12

Methods for fixation on toto, 1927 and undated. Newspaper clippings, ca. 1927-1933, re: Kellogg; Smithsonian Institution; whaling.

Box 9 of 12

Box 10

Correlation data on whales from foreign sources, undated. Whale Press Releases, Council for the Conservation of Whales, ca. 1925-1930.

Box 10 of 12

Manuscript Notes, undated.

Box 10 of 12

Mailing lists for Kellogg publications, 1932 and undated.

Box 10 of 12

Book dealers lists, undated.

Box 10 of 12

A. Remington Kellogg miscellaneous, includes: certificates; A. Remington Kellogg education/ experience/partial bibliography; exam questions; New Jersey project for collecting Fossil Pelagic Mammals; SI's Walter Rathbone Bacon Scholarship; November 1923 outline of Kellogg's Ph.D. thesis.

Box 10 of 12

Series 4

PHOTOGRAPHS, CA. 1915-1968. ARRANGED CHRONOLOGICALLY.

Box 10

North Dakota landscapes, including reaches of the Missouri River, 1915 (Accession 06-160)

Box 10 of 12

Natural history specimens, mostly reptiles and amphibians and some natural features, in Michigan, Texas, and Maryland, 1920s. Investigators referenced by name include F. M. Uhler, Walter P. Taylor, and O. G. Babcock, all Bureau of Biological Survey staff.

Box 10 of 12

Kellogg personal photos; Opening of Hall of North American Mammals; Hrdlicka bust presentation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Exhibit; Hall of Naval History, 1952; Salk vaccine exhibit, 1958; Roumanian fold exhibit, 1960; Wullschleger tapestry; Revenue stamps presentation; Mayor Naoyoshi Yi, Japan; U.N. Postage Stamps; One-X, Chance Vought XF8U-1960; RVX 1-5 Nose Cone, Gen. Shriever, ca. 1930-1968.

Box 10 of 12

Arctic Research Laboratory Advisory Board, ca. 1948-1951.

Box 10 of 12

Retirements of member of staff of Department of Zoology, ca. 1948-1961 (includes: William Brown, N. S. Bryant, Mathilde Carpenter, Neal Deaton, Charles East, Herbert Friedmann).

Box 10 of 12

International Whaling Commission, Moscow, July 1955. Galathea Expedition Exhibit - "Two Centuries of Danish Deep Sea Research," October 13, 1960.

Box 10 of 12

Life in the Sea Hall Opening, February 18, 1963.

Box 10 of 12

Series 5

DIVISIONAL HISTORIES OF THE USNM, NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, CA. 1946. ARRANGED BY DIVISION.

Box 11

This series consists of manuscript material for an article written by Kellogg entitled, "A Century of Progress in Smithsonian Biology" published in the Smithsonian Institution Centennial Issue of Science (vol. 104, no. 2693, August 9, 1946). Divisions included: Mammals, Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians, Fishes, Insects, Marine Invertebrates, Mollusks, Echinoderms, Comparative Anatomy, and Plants (National Herbarium).

Box 11 of 12

Series 6

PAPERS RELATING TO DEPARTMENT OF STATE POSITIONS, 1940-1948. ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY.

These papers do not include Kellogg's position as U.S. Commissioner, International Whaling Commission; see Record Unit 7165.

Box 11

Eighth American Scientific Congress, May 1940, includes abstracts of papers presented at the Congress with a draft of Kellogg's paper entitled, "Tertiary, Quaternary, and Recent Marine Mammals of South America and the West Indies."

Box 11 of 12

International Hylean Amazon Institute (IHAI), Correspondence, 1947-1948

Box 11 of 12

IHAI, Documents, n.d.

Box 11 of 12

IHAI, Documents, 1947-1948

Box 11 of 12

IHAI, Publications, 1947-1948

Box 11 of 12

IHAI, Collected data re. Amazonia, ca. 1947

Box 11 of 12

IHAI, Clippings and photographs, ca. 1947

Box 11 of 12

Box 12

IHAI, notes, drafts of papers, etc. by Kellogg, n.d.

Box 12 of 12

The Joint Research and Development Board, Committee on Geographical Explorations, 1946-1948 - includes Report of Preliminary Foodstuffs Panel

Box 12 of 12