Reference Request
Finding Aids to Official Records of the Smithsonian Institution Archives
Record Unit 143
United States National Museum. Department of Zoology
Correspondence, 1901-1954
Historical Note
The Department of Biology was formed in the reorganization of 1 July 1897. At that time, the various departments in the biological sciences became divisions and the Department was set up as the organizational unit controlling these divisions. The first Head Curator was Frederick W. True, who served from 1897-1911. On 1 June 1911 Leonhard Stejneger became Head Curator and he served in this position until his death in 1943. Waldo L. Schmitt was the last Head Curator of the Department and served until its reorganization in 1947. On 31 July 1947, the Department of Biology was divided into the Departments of Zoology and Botany. Schmitt continued as Head Curator of Zoology and Ellsworth Paine Killip was appointed Head Curator of Botany.
Descriptive Entry
The correspondence in this record unit contains only a portion of the correspondence of the two Departments. Other material relating to the Department of Biology can be found in the Frederick William True Papers, record unit 7181, and the Leonhard Stejneger Papers, record unit 7074.
Index Terms
This collection is indexed under the following access terms. These are links to collections with related topics, persons or places.
Name
- Killip, Ellsworth Paine, 1890-
- Schmitt, Waldo L. (Waldo Lasalle), 1887-1977
- Stejneger, Leonhard, 1851-1943
- True, Frederick William, 1858-1914
- United States National Museum. Department of Biology
Subject
Physical Characteristics of Materials in the Collection
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 143, United States National Museum. Department of Zoology, Correspondence