INTRODUCTION
This finding aid was digitized with funds generously provided by the Smithsonian Institution Women's Committee.James A. Peters was born in Durant, Iowa July 13, 1922. He developed an
interest in herpetology as a teenager, which culminated in the acquisition of
three academic degrees from the University of Michigan (B.S., 1948; M.A.,
1950; Ph.D., 1952). While at the University of Michigan he served as a
research assistant in the Museum of Zoology (1946-1952) and as a teaching
assistant for the Department of Zoology (1952). After receiving his Ph.D.,
Peters joined the staff of Brown University (1952-1958), advancing from
instructor to assistant professor. During the summer of 1956 he was a
research associate at Stanford University. From 1958 to 1959 Peters was a
Fulbright Lecturer at the Universidad Centrale de Ecuador; he was a visiting
professor at Southern Illinois University for the summer of 1959 and accepted
an associate professorship at San Fernando Valley State College (SFVSC) in the
fall of that year. Peters advanced to full professor at SFVSC, remaining
there until February 1964 when he accepted the position of associate curator
in the Division of Reptiles and Amphibians of the United States National
Museum. He assumed the title "supervisor and curator" of the Division in FY
1967, a title he held until FY 1971. He was named curator, Division of
Reptiles and Amphibians in FY 1971 and held that position until his death on
December 18, 1972. James A. Peters' professional responsibilities
included membership in many scientific societies. He attended his first
meeting of the American Society of Icthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH) in
1939. He later served on the Board of Governors and various committees. He
also served as ASIH secretary (1960-1966); vice-president (1967); and president
(1970). He also held advisory or elected positions with the Society of
Systematic Zoology, the Southern California Academy of Sciences, the Society
for the Study of Evolution, and the Biological Society of Washington. Within
the Smithsonian Peters continued his professional responsibilities by service
on the Zoo Research Advisory Committee (National Zoological Park), the
Planning Committee for Summer Seminar in Systematics, the Steering Committee
for the First International Congress of Systematic Zoology, the International
Congress of Systematic and Evolutionary Biology, the Reptile Group of the
Survival Service Commission of the International Union for the Conservation of
Nature, the American Alligator Council, and the Rare and Endangered Species
Committee of the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife. In 1965 he
inaugurated the Smithsonian Herpetological Information Services, which
distributed informative material deemed useful to herpetologists but
unsuitable for publication, e.g., bibliographies, indices, etc. The
herpetology and zoogeography of Latin America became main subjects of interest
for Peters after he did field work on the Mexican Plateau in 1949 and in
Michoacan in 1950. His concentration on Ecuador was largely due to the wide
scope of biogeographical faunal comparisons available in the Andes Mountains.
While completing his doctoral work on the snakes of the subfamily Dipsadinae,
he embarked in 1952 upon a long-term research project on the herpetology of
Ecuador that resulted in twenty-one published papers. The culmination of his
Latin American work was the two-volume Catalogue of the Neotropical
Squamata co-authored with Braulio Orjas-Miranda and Roberto Donoso-Barrios
(1970). Over 100 scientific publications are attributed to James A. Peters,
including two books, Classic Papers in Genetics (ed., 1959) and
Dictionary of Herpetology (1964). He described seventeen new species or
subspecies and had five taxa, four Neotropical amphibians and reptiles, and one
snake named for him. The computer analysis of biogeographic data
greatly enhanced Peters' study of the systematics and ecology of reptiles and
amphibians. An effective use of this technique was the gathering of
comparative cardiac physiology of Ecuadorian snakes and lizards using data
obtained from an electrocardiograph. Identification of specimens was another
field adaptable to the use of computer technology. In this area of interest
Peters developed computer programs that facilitated the identification process
by searching on a larger constellation of characters than had previously been
employed. Eleven papers were published from 1968 to 1973 on the subject of
computer usage. He also founded the newsletter MUDPIE (Museum and
University Data Program and Information Exchange) which contained information
about computer programs, references, grants, meetings, and related news. This record series is a compilation of two complete and previously separate files as well as one incomplete file. Due to the similarity in the nature and subject matter, the three files were combined into one alphabetic series. The largest volume of correspondence is incoming and outgoing Peters correspondence, both professional and personal. To a lesser extent professional and personal correspondence exists for other members of the staff - Doris Mable Cochran, Robert G. Tuck, Jr., and George R. Zug. The subject matter is largely confined to specimen identification, meetings of scientific societies, and requests for scientific papers. Box 1 of 49
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Correspondence in this series pertains to scientific organizations and documents Peters' participation in these organizations. Also included are newsletters, form letters for committee members, and information brochures. Foreign societies are alphabetized utilizing the foreign language spelling. Box 19 of 49
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This series consists of Peters' typescripts or written notes. Included are papers written for college credit, as well as published papers, especially relative to Ecuador. The alphabetical listing is most often filed by the Latin name of the specimen rather than the correct title of the paper. Box 25 of 49
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Correspondence documents publication of Peters' books and scientific papers and includes general information about the various publishers. Box 32 of 49
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Included are miscellaneous reprint requests for papers by Peters or other members of the staff of the Division of Reptiles and Amphibians. Information on book dealers, book orders and price lists are also included in this series. Box 33 of 49
Correspondence documents Peters' application for awards. Grants and awards received include those from the American Philosophical Society (1954); Brown University (1954); National Academy of Science (1956); Fulbright Program - Ecuador (1958-1959); Casa de la Cultura, Ecuador (1959); Universidad Nacional, Ecuador (1959); National Science Foundation (1962-1964); National Institutes of Health (1962-1963); and the Smithsonian Research Award (1965). Box 34 of 49
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This series consists in the most part of computer runs for the time-share computer system. Peters established a fund for the use of computer time by Smithsonian scientists. This data is often filed under the name of the scientist involved. Box 36 of 49
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The series consists of files originating before 1964 when Peters came to the Smithsonian. They appear to have been kept for Peters' personal information. The bulk of this series consists of lecture notes. Box 38 of 49
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The series consists of files originating after 1964 which document Peters' job-related duties while employed by the Institution. Curatorial and administrative functions are included. Box 40 of 49
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These papers generally do not deal with the professional aspects of Peters' career. However an exception is the existence of some research plans in Peters' "Idea" notebook. Box 41 of 49
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These are official records of the Division of Reptiles and Amphibians and appear to have been originally maintained by Doris Mable Cochran. Box 42 of 49
These are official records of the Division of Reptiles and Amphibians and appear to have been originally maintained by Doris Mable Cochran. Box 43 of 49
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These records appear to have been information files originated and maintained by Doris Mable Cochran while employed at the Smithsonian. Files were probably used by Peters for reference. Box 44 of 49
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Exhibits Box 46 of 49
These records were an added acquisition to the collection from the Division of Fishes after the collection had been processed. The note cards appear to have served as a personal reference source; the slides were used to illustrate talks given by Peters. Box 47 of 49
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Contact us at osiaref@si.edu
Revised: August 10, 2007 HISTORICAL NOTE
DESCRIPTIVE ENTRY
These papers include both personal and professional correspondence and
documents relating to Peters' academic and curatorial careers. Also included
are files of the Division of Reptiles and Amphibians maintained by Peters'
predecessor, Doris Mable Cochran (1898-1968). Correspondents include Jorge W.
Abalos, M. Acosta-Solis, Kraig Kerr Adler, Villy Aellen, E. Ross Allen,
American Institute of Biological Sciences, American Medical Association,
American Museum of Natural History, American Society of Icthyologists and
Herpetologists, Steven C. Anderson, Attilio Arillo, Ralph W. Axtell, James P.
Bacon, Jr., Gladys C. Banks, Benjamin Harrison Banta, Avelino Barrio, J. C.
Battersby, Nina Battersby, Pauline Becker, William Beebe, Beitrage Zur
Neotropischen Fauna, Ronald E. Beltz, Paul A. Benson, Frederick Henry Berry,
Bio Instrumentation Advisory Council, Sherman Chauncey Bishop, Richard Eliot
Blackwelder, Frieda Cobb Blanchard, Ellen Gillespie Block, Charles Mitchell
Bogert, James Erwin Bohlke, Werner C. A. Bokermann, Donald D. Brand, Ronald A.
Brandon, Bayard Holmes Brattstrom, British Herpetological Society, Donald G.
Broadley, L. D. Brongersma, Garnett Ryland Brooks, Jr., John Langdon Brooks,
Bryce Cardigan Brown, Frederick Martin Brown, Brown University, Walter
Creighton Brown, Maria Buchinger, W. Leslie Burger, A. C. J. Burgers, Charles
Earle Burt, William Henry Burt, Robert A. Burton, R. Bruce Bury, Fred Ray
Cagle, Canadian Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Society, Luis F. Capurro,
Dennis S. Carlson, Nan V. Carson, Center for Tropical Studies, University of
Michigan, Herman Burleigh Chase, The Chicago Herpetological Society, William
M. Clay, Doris Mable Cochran, Nathan Wolf Cohen, Roger Conant, John M. Condit,
Congreso Latinamericano de Zoologia, Joseph F. Copp, Robert Copping, Raymond
B. Cowles, David Crane, John Davis, Paul E. P. Deraniyagala, Philip H. Derse,
Michael W. Dix, James R. Dixon, Roberto Donoso-Barrios (Ref.), Armando Dugand,
Roy Frederick Dulin, Jr., Ann Dunham, Emmet Reid Dunn, Delbert G. Easton,
Richard A. Edgren, Jr., Lloyd C. Emmons, Francis Cope Evans, Lee C. Finneran,
Harvey Irvin Fisher, Henry Sheldon Fitch, Alvin Godfrey Flury, William I.
Follett, Keith E. Friedel, John W. Funkhouser, Jose M. Gallardo, Sidney Roland
Galler, Carl Gans, Joseph Francis Gennaro, Jr., Howard Kay Gloyd, Coleman Jett
Goin, Stanley W. Gorham, Joseph B. Gorman, Chapman Grant, Arthur Merwin
Greenhall, Arnold B. Grobman, Eugene Raymond Hall, Rogers D. Hamilton, William
John Hamilton, Jr., Garry P. Harned, Francis Harper, Ernest William Hartung,
Norman Edouard Hartweg, Werner George Heim, Herpetologists' League, William
Atwood Hilton, Richard L. Hoffman, Alphonse Richard Hoge, Theodore Huntington
Hubbell, Carl Leavitt Hubbs, Richard G. Hubler, Don Hunsaker II, Victor H.
Hutchinson, Robert F. Inger, Instituto Butantan, Instituto Panamericano de
Geografia e Historia, International Association For Systematic Zoology,
International Biological Programme, International Commission on Zoological
Nomenclature, International Congress of Systematic and Evolutionary Biology,
International Herpetology Society, International Union for Conservation of
Nature and Natural Resources, Hernando de Irmay, David Lee Jameson, Rolf A.
Jensen, Junior Herpetological Society, Brahma S. Kaushiva, Hugh Lawrence
Keegan, Laurence Monroe Klauber, Robert Elroy Kuntz, Ernest Albert Lachner,
Abdem Ramon Lancini, David A. Langebartel, Carlos M. Larrea, Ronald Lawson,
David S. Lee, Donald L. Lehmann, Roberto Levi-Castillo, Alan E. Leviton,
Lizard Ecology Symposium, Long Island Herpetological Society, Richard Biggar
Loomis, Francis X. Lueth, Douglas MacGregor, Thomas J. McIntyre, Rogers
McVaugh, Beni Charan Mahendra, M. Maldonado-Koerdell, Guillermo Mann, Romeo
John Mansueti, Paul Schultz Martin, Kevin W. Marx, The Maryland Herpetological
Society, Ernst Mayr, Giles W. Mead, John Stephen Mecham, Daniel Merriman,
Robert Rush Miller, Eunice Thomas Miner, Francis J. Mitchell, Erna Mohr, John
Alexander Moore, George Sprague Myers, National Geographic Society, Walter
Ludwig Necker, Wilfred T. Neill, Morris Graham Netting, New York
Herpetological Society, Norman Dennis Newell, Clifford Raymond Noll, Jr.,
Kenneth Stafford Norris, The Ohio Herpetological Society, James Arthur Oliver,
The Orange County Herpetological Society, Gustavo Orces, Braulio
Orejas-Miranda (Ref.), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(Paris), Organization of American States, Lourdes G. Ortega, Juan Jose
Parodiz, Georges Pasteur, Dennis R. Paulson, Raymond Andrew Paynter, Jr.,
James A. Peters, Philadelphia Herpetological Society, David Pimentel, Richard
A. Pimentel, Ivo Poglayen-Neuwall, Friedrich Polz, Clifford Hillhouse Pope,
Primer Congreso Sudamericano de Zoologia, George B. Rabb, A. Stanley Rand,
Neil Dwight Richmond, William J. Riemer, Philip C. Ritterbush, Robert Maar
Roecker, Alfred S. Romer, Douglas Anthon Rossman, Barry Rothman, Norma
Rothman, Janis A. Roze, Rodolfo Ruibal, Findlay Ewing Russell, Richard W.
Russell, Jay M. Savage, Scandinavian Herpetological Society, Herbert Schifter,
Karl Patterson Schmidt, Waldo Lasalle Schmitt, Albert Schwartz, Frederick A.
Shannon, Charles E. Shaw, Hurst Hugh Shoemaker, R. K. Shrivastava, Charles
Gald Sibley, Allan J. Sloan, Paul Slud (Ref.), Hobart Muir Smith, Philip W.
Smith, Richard Craine Snyder, Society for the Study of Amphibians and
Reptiles, Society for the Study of Evolution, Society of Systematic Zoology,
Paul Soderberg, The Southern California Academy of Sciences, Southwestern
Herpetologists Society, James Juan Spillett, Leonhard Stejneger, Othmar
Stemmler, Terry B. Stevenson, William H. Stickel, Laurence Cooper Stuart,
Bogdan Sturgen, The Systematics Association, Michael J. Takos, James R.
Tamsitt, Wilmer W. Tanner, Aaron M. Taub, Edward H. Taylor, The Tennessee
Herpetological Society, E. Titschack, Enrico Tortonese, Robert G. Tuck, Jr.,
Frederick Brown Turner, Michael J. Tyler, Emil K. Urban, Thomas Marshall
Uzzell, Jose Valencia, Stefan Vancea, Paulo Emilio Vanzolini, Jaime D. Villa,
Virginia Herpetological Society, John Visser, Zdenek Vogel, Harold K. Voris,
Helmuth O. Wagner, David Burton Wake, Charles Frederic Walker, Warren Franklin
Walker, Jr., Harlan D. Walley, The Washington Biologists' Field Club, Inc.,
Robert G. Webb, William Weber (Ref.), John E. Werler, Heinz Wermuth, Yehudah
L. Werner, Dawn Xavier Weston, Jr., Kenneth L. Williams, Richard Willnow,
James Walter Wilson, Larry David Wilson, Gaston-Francois de Witte, Allyn L.
Wood, Lindsay W. Wood, Albert Hazen Wright (Ref.), John W. Wright, David Zaid,
William Zipperer, The Zoological Society of London, George R. Zug, Richard
George Zweifel.
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
SERIES 1.
CORRESPONDENCE, 1938-1972. ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY.
SERIES 2.
SOCIETIES, MEETINGS, CONGRESSES, SYMPOSIUMS, ETC., 1940-1972. ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY.
SERIES 3.
MANUSCRIPTS, 1942-1972. ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY.
SERIES 4.
PUBLISHERS, 1955-1969. ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY.
SERIES 5.
PUBLICATION REQUESTS, 1946-1973. UNARRANGED.
SERIES 6.
RESEARCH AWARDS, 1950-1970. ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY.
SERIES 7.
COMPUTERS and COMPUTER USAGE, 1960-1973. ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY.
SERIES 8.
NON-SMITHSONIAN FILES, 1937-1966. ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY.
SERIES 9.
SMITHSONIAN-RELATED FILES, 1962-1971. ARRANGED CHRONOLOGICALLY.
SERIES 10.
PETERS' PERSONAL PAPERS, 1935-1969. UNARRANGED.
Pilot's Log Book, 1943-1944
SERIES 11.
DIVISION OF REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS OUTGOING SHIPPING INVOICES, C. 1938-1964. ARRANGED BY SUBJECT.
SERIES 12.
DIVISION OF REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS INCOMING SHIPPING INVOICES, C. 1938-1966. ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY.
SERIES 13.
DIVISION OF REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS CURATORIAL PAPERS (DORIS MABLE COCHRAN), 1927-1966. ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY.
SERIES 14.
NOTE CARDS AND SLIDES, C. 1956-1964. UNARRANGED.
SERIES 15.
FIELD NOTES, 1946-1965.
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