Reference Request
Finding Aids to Oral Histories in the Smithsonian Institution Archives
Record Unit 9573
Jones, Meredith L., interviewee
Meredith Leam Jones Oral History Interview, 1990
Historical Note
Meredith Leam Jones (1926-1996), invertebrate zoologist, received the B.A. in 1948, M.S. in 1952, and Ph.D. in 1956 from the University of California at Berkeley. From 1957 to 1960, he was an Assistant Professor at Florida State University. From 1960 to 1964, he was Assistant Curator in the Department of Living Invertebrates at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City. In 1964, he accepted a position as Associate Curator in the Department of Invertebrate Zoology of the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH). In 1970, he advanced to Curator in the Division of Worms, Department of Invertebrate Zoology, a position he held until his retirement in 1989. Jones' research focused on systematics of polycheate worms, especially those found at the hydrothermal vents in the eastern Pacific.
Introduction
The Smithsonian Institution Archives began its Oral History Program in 1973. The purpose of the program is to supplement the written documentation of the Archives’ record and manuscript collections with an Oral History Collection, focusing on the history of the Institution, research by its scholars, and contributions of its staff. Program staff conduct interviews with current and retired Smithsonian staff and others who have made significant contributions to the Institution. There are also interviews conducted by researchers or students on topics related to the history of the Smithsonian or the holdings of the Smithsonian Institution Archives.
Jones was interviewed for the Oral History Collection because of his long association with the NMNH and outstanding research career in invertebrate zoology.
Descriptive Entry
Jones was interviewed by Pamela M. Henson on October 23, 1990 at his home in Washington State. This interview discusses his education, his years at Florida State University and AMNH, his career at the NMNH, research on polycheate worms, especially the eastern Pacific hydrothermal rift fauna of giant tube worms, field work, and reminiscences of colleagues. The collection consists of 5.5 hours of audiotape recording and 186 pages of transcript.
Index Terms
This collection is indexed under the following access terms. These are links to collections with related topics, persons or places.
Name
- American Museum of Natural History
- Florida State University
- Henson, Pamela M. interviewer
- Hyman, Libby Henrietta
- Jones, Meredith L.
- National Museum of Natural History (U.S.). Department of Invertebrate Zoology
- National Museum of Natural History (U.S.). Department of Zoology
- National Museum of Natural History (U.S.). Division of Worms
- Smith, Ralph
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
- Squires, Donald Fleming
Subject
- Hydrothermal vents
- Interviews
- Invertebrate zoology
- Museum curators -- United States -- Interviews
- Oceanography
- Oral history
- Tube worms
Physical Characteristics of Materials in the Collection
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 9573, Meredith L. Jones Oral History Interview