Reference Request
Finding Aids to Oral Histories in the Smithsonian Institution Archives
Record Unit 9621
G. Evelyn Hutchinson Biographical Interviews, 1990-2000
Historical Note
As background research for a biography of G. Evelyn Hutchinson, pioneer of American ecology and mentor of S. Dillon Ripley, eighth Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Nancy G. Slack conducted oral history interviews with Hutchinson, family members and colleagues during the 1990s. Hutchinson was on several Smithsonian boards and commissions and was a mentor to several Smithsonian researchers. The interviews were recorded on audio cassette and mini-cassette tapes, and deposited in the Smithsonian Institution Archives Oral History Collection. A few of the tapes have been remastered in digital audio for preservation purposes.
Introduction
The Smithsonian Institution Archives (SIA) 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 reminiscences and interviews recorded by researchers or students on topics related to the history of the Smithsonian or the holdings of the Smithsonian Institution Archives.
Descriptive Entry
The G. Evelyn Hutchinson Interviews include interviews with Myrdene Anderson, Yemaiel Aris, Anna Aschenbach, Anna Bidder, E. J. Browne, Robert Cook, Dian Deevey, Rosemary Dodd, Peter Dodd, M. J. Dunbar, W. T. Edmondson, Yvette H. Edmondson, David George Furth, Eville Gorham, Paul Hutchinson, Dorothea Hutchinson, A. Hutchinson, G. Evelyn Hutchinson, Hannah Hutchinson, Sophie Hutchinson, Penelope Jenkin, Alison Jolly, Susan Soltau Kilham, Alan J. Kohn, Stanley Leavy, Mary Leavy, Estella B. Leopold, Sibyl Marcuse, Clement L. Markert, Ernst Mayr, Ian McLaren, Eric Mills, Jane M. Oppenheimer, Ruth Patrick, Gilbert Poulson, Mary Poulson, Paul Richard, Anne Richard, S. Dillon Ripley, Howard Sanders, Lawrence B. Slobodkin, Sarah Twombly, Peter J. Wangersky, Maxine Watson, and Margaret Wright.
The interviews were recorded by Dr. Nancy G. Slack, professor biology at Russell Sage College and a botanist and historian of science. The interviews focus on reminiscences of G. Evelyn Hutchinson and information about their careers in biology and ecology.
The G. Evelyn Hutchinson Interviews consist of 38 interview sessions, totaling approximately 56 hours of recordings on audiotape cassettes or mini-cassettes. Note that recording times are approximate. The interviews have not been transcribed.
Index Terms
This collection is indexed under the following access terms. These are links to collections with related topics, persons or places.
Name
- Hutchinson, G. Evelyn (George Evelyn), 1903-1991
- Ripley, S. Dillon (Sidney Dillon), 1913-2001
- Slack, Nancy G., interviewer
- Anderson, Myrdene, 1934-
- Aris, Yemaiel
- Aschenbach, Anna
- Bidder, Anna
- Browne, E. J. (E. Janet), 1950-
- Cook, Robert
- Deevey, Dian
- Dodd, Rosemary
- Dodd, Peter
- Dunbar, M. J. (Maxwell John), 1914-1995
- Edmondson, W. T. (Walles Thomas), 1916-2000
- Edmondson, Yvette H.
- Furth, David George
- Gorham, Eville
- Hutchinson, Paul
- Hutchinson, Dorothea
- Hutchinson, A.
- Hutchinson, Hannah
- Hutchinson, Sophie
- Jenkin, Penelope
- Jolly, Alison
- Kilham, Susan Soltau, 1943-
- Kohn, Alan J.
- Leavy, Stanley
- Leavy, Mary
- Leopold, Estella B.
- Marcuse, Sibyl
- Markert, Clement L. (Clement Lawrence), 1917-1999
- Mayr, Ernst, 1904-2005
- McLaren, Ian
- Mills, Eric
- Oppenheimer, Jane M. (Jane Marion), 1911-1996
- Patrick, Ruth, 1907-2013
- Poulson, Gilbert
- Poulson, Mary
- Richard, Anne
- Sanders, Howard
- Slobodkin, Lawrence B.
- Twombly, Sarah
- Wangersky, Peter J. (Peter John)
- Watson, Maxine
- Wright, Margaret
- Smithsonian Institution. Office of the Secretary
- Russell Sage College
Subject
- Advisory boards
- Environmental sciences
- Ecology
- Oral history
- Interviews
- Biology
- Botanists
- Science -- History
Physical Characteristics of Materials in the Collection
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 9621, G. Evelyn Hutchinson Biographical Interviews