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

Record Unit 7223

Longley, William Harding, 1881-1937

William Harding Longley Papers, 1892-1904, 1913-1935 and undated

Repository:Smithsonian Institution Archives, Washington, D.C. Contact us at osiaref@si.edu.
Creator:Longley, William Harding, 1881-1937
Title:William Harding Longley Papers
Dates:1892-1904, 1913-1935 and undated
Quantity:1.93 cu. ft. (2 document boxes) (1 tall document box) (1 half document box) (5 microfilm reels)
Collection:Record Unit 7223
Language of Materials:English
Summary:

These papers contain notebooks of William Harding Longley concerning field work in the Tortugas, Hawaii, Samoa, and the Pacific; examination of specimens in European and American museums; and the evolution and distribution of species, including notes on botanical species. There is also a notebook which is marked as Longley's, but appears to be an A. B. Alexander field journal for the North Pacific, 1892-1904.

Historical Note

William Harding Longley (1881-1937) was born in Nova Scotia. Following his graduation from Acadia University in 1898, Longley served in the provincial school system until he entered Yale about 1903. While there, he specialized in biology and received a position as instructor in the subject in 1910. The following year, Goucher College in Baltimore appointed him instructor in biology and assistant professor of botany. Longley remained at Goucher until his death, becoming professor of botany in 1914, chairman of the department of biology in 1917, and professor of biology in 1919.

Longley's major scientific work was done in connection with the Dry Tortugas Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, where he first went as a collector in 1911. He returned often in subsequent years to study color and pattern in tropical reef fishes as a means of testing Darwin's theories on protective coloration. His studies in this field led him to develop a comprehensive statistical theory on the origin and spread of species, some notes on which are in this collection. His close association with the Laboratory led to his appointment as its director in 1922.

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Descriptive Entry

These papers contain notebooks of William Harding Longley concerning field work in the Tortugas, Hawaii, Samoa, and the Pacific; examination of specimens in European and American museums; and the evolution and distribution of species, including notes on botanical species. There is also a notebook which is marked as Longley's, but appears to be an A. B. Alexander field journal for the North Pacific, 1892-1904.

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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 7223, William Harding Longley Papers

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Container List

Series 1

Notes on Evolution and Distribution of Species, undated.

Box 1

Folder 1 Seven notebooks of William Harding Longley containing observations and notes on a variety of subjects, especially the study of statistics in relation to evolution and the distribution of species. Includes notes on the Society Islands, Kermadec Islands, Hawaii, Bahamas, and Indonesia and botany. It is unclear from the notebooks whether the information was gathered first-hand or from other works, since a number of citations appear in the notes. One notebook also contains notes on painters and painting. Undated.

Box 1 of 4

Series 2

Notes on Museum Specimens; Field Notes, 1913-1935.

Box 1

Folder 2 Ten notebooks of Longley containing notes on specimens examined at the American Museum of Natural History, Louisiana State University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, and United States National Museum, circa 1932-1935

Box 1 of 4

Box 2

Field Notes of Longley - Use of Microfilm is Recommended

Volume 1 Tortugas, 1913-1915

Volume 1 Tortugas, 1913-1915
Box 2 of 4

Volume 2 Tortugas, Hawaii, Samoa, 1916-1921

Volume 2 Tortugas, Hawaii, Samoa, 1916-1921
Box 2 of 4

Volume 3 Tortugas, 1922-1925

Volume 3 Tortugas, 1922-1925
Box 2 of 4

Box 3

Volume 4 Tortugas, Hawaii, Samoa, Pacific, 1926-1927

Volume 4 Tortugas, Hawaii, Samoa, Pacific, 1926-1927
Box 3 of 4

Volume 5 Pacific, Tortugas, United States National Museum, 1927-1929

Volume 5 Pacific, Tortugas, United States National Museum, 1927-1929
Box 3 of 4

Volume 6 Notes on museum specimens, 1930-1932

Volume 6 Notes on museum specimens, 1930-1932
Box 3 of 4

Box 4

Volume 7 Notes on museum specimens, 1932

Box 4 of 4

Other Notes

"Notes on specimens in British Museum," also includes notes on Paris Museum specimens, circa 1933

Box 4 of 4

Notes on fishes in European museums, undated

Box 4 of 4

Series 3

Other Field Notes, 1892-1913.

Box 4

Transcription of 5 small note books made by Mrs. Longley and Elizabeth. Notebook marked Longley, but appears to be A. B. Alexander field journal for North Pacific, 1892-1904. May have been in Longley's possession.

Transcription of 5 small note books made by Mrs. Longley and Elizabeth.
Box 4 of 4

Log of Fish Hawk, 1912-1913

Log of Fish Hawk, 1912-1913
Box 4 of 4

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