Letter from Alexander Wetmore to S. Dillon Ripley
ID: SIA2010-0556
Creator: Wetmore, Alexander 1886-
Form/Genre: Secretarial Correspondence
Date: May 8, 1945
Citation: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 305, Box 899, Folder: 170221
Usage Conditions Apply
The Smithsonian Institution Archives welcomes personal and educational use of its collections unless otherwise noted. For commercial uses, please contact photos@si.edu.Summary
Letter from Smithsonian Assistant Secretary Alexander Wetmore to S. Dillon Ripley acknowledges the donation and receipt of 239 bird skins and one skeleton Ripley collected in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, and sent to the U.S. National Museum for their collection.
Subject
- Ripley, Sidney Dillon 1913-2001
- United States National Museum Dept. of Biology Division of Birds
- United States National Museum
- Office of Strategic Services
- Office of Correspondence and Documents
Category
Historic Images of the Smithsonian
Notes
- Future Smithsonian Secretary S. Dillon Ripley, formerly assistant curator in the Division of Birds, volunteered for service during World War II with the Office of Strategic Services, predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency. Stationed in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, he continued his ornithological passion with bird watching in his free time. As an avid bird collector, Ripley maintained contact with the Smithsonian and donated bird specimens he collected. He knew the geography, natural history, and languages of the region, having traveled widely in the South Pacific before the war.
- See Neg. Numbers SIA2010-0555, SIA2010-0557, SIA2010-0558, SIA2010-0559, SIA2010-0560, SIA2010-0561, SIA2010-0562 relating to the shipment by S. Dillon Ripley of bird skins from Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, to the Smithsonian during World War II.
Contained within
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 305, Box 899, Folder: 170221
Contact information
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu
Date
May 8, 1945
Restrictions & Rights
No restrictions
Topic
- WW II
- Animals
- Secretaries
- Letters
- Smithsonian Institution
- Personnel management
- Specimens
- Birds
- Employees
- Collection and preservation
- Collecting and collections
- World War, 1939-1945
- Birds--Collection and preservation
- Ornithologists
- Ornithology
- Smithsonian Institution--Employees
Place
Sri Lanka
Form/Genre
- Secretarial Correspondence
- Document
- Paper
ID Number
SIA2010-0556
Physical description
Number of Images: 1; Color: Color; Size: 7.69w x 10.05h; Type of Image: Document; Medium: Paper