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Biographical Information
Accession 05-123, Smithsonian Institution, Personnel Records, 1892-1952. This accession consists of early personnel records. Notable staff include C.G. (Charles Greeley) Abbot, Carl Whiting Bishop, John Wesley Powell, Mary Jane Rathbun, Richard Rathbun, William Jones Rhees, Robert Ridgway, Thomas W. Smillie, Leonhard Stejneger, Charles Doolittle Walcott, and Mary Vaux Walcott. Materials include offer letters, letters of dismissal, payroll records, correspondence from employees, biographies, death notices, and, for some personnel, identification photographs used for employee badges.
Record
Unit 7098, Biographical File.
This collection contains biographies of individuals associated
with the Smithsonian as either administrative officers, curators,
collectors, donors, regents, or research associates. The biographical
file, accessible by personal name, consists primarily of news
clippings, photographs, press releases and obituaries. Biographical
subjects include Howard I. Chapelle, maritime and naval historian;
Joseph Henry, scientist and first secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution; and photographer Thomas William Smillie. The
finding aid is periodically updated.
Record
Unit 420, Office of Public Affairs, Biographical Files,
circa 1963-1988. These files consist of biographical
information on Smithsonian figures, most of whom were employed
or active in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Persons covered
in the files primarily include regents, directors, other office
heads, and various employees of interest. Occasional materials
on docents, volunteers, and contributors to the collections
are also present. Many of the entries in this file resulted
from a single event or single newspaper article, while important
figures, such as regents and museum heads, are quite well
documented. Accretions to this file, dated 1927-1993, can
be found in Accessions 95-136, 98-147,
99-020,
and 99-048.
Record Unit 372, Office of Public Affairs, Clippings, circa 1964-2005. These files consist of newspaper clippings and often include obituaries of Smithsonian staff. Accretions can be found in Accessions 01-078, 99-052, 98-025, 03-044, 06-079, and 08-063.
Record
Unit 7230, United States National Museum, Department of
Geology, Biographical File. This biographical file
was maintained by the United States National Museum's Department
of Geology and several of its curators. Included in the file
are biographies, obituaries, memoirs, and memorial service
programs and addresses of prominent scientists, particularly
American geologists and paleontologists, as well as some notable
Smithsonian Institution personnel. Also included are newspaper
feature stories about geologists and their important geological
discoveries or contributions to their field of study. Many
of the publications include published prints or an occasional
photograph of the subject.
Record
Unit 7320, National Museum of Natural History, Division
of Mammals, Biographical File, 1860-1973 and undated.
This biographical file was maintained by the United States
National Museum's (USNM) Division of Mammals. It contains
a variety of materials documenting the lives and careers of
scientists from a wide range of fields including mammalogy,
ornithology, ichthyology, herpetology, botany, entomology,
paleontology, and geology. Also included are files on conservationists,
taxidermists, historical figures, explorers, frontiersmen,
and hunters. The files include biographical sketches, memoirs,
obituaries, articles, bibliographies, news clippings, press
releases, correspondence, and photographs.
Record
Unit 7323, Systematic Entomology Laboratory, Photographs
and Biographical Information, 1797-1988 and undated.
This record unit includes obituaries, magazine and newspaper
articles, correspondence, bibliographies, photographs, handwriting
samples, book reviews, and biographical sketches. Information
on a number of entomological societies such as the Cambridge
Entomological Club, the Entomological Society of America,
and the Royal Entomological Society of London, is also included.
In addition, the collection contains photographs of entomologists
collected for the most part by Eugene Amandus Schwarz and
Herbert Spencer Barber, USDA entomologists associated with
the United States National Museum. Included are formal portraits,
casual photographs, photographs taken during field work, and
group photographs. There are also photographs of field work
sites from around the world. An accretion to this file, dated
circa 1918-1994, can be found in Accession 96-080.
Record
Unit 7401, National Museum of Natural History, Department
of Entomology, Biographies of Entomologists, circa 1850-1982.
This collection consists mostly of biographical sketches,
memorials, newspaper obituaries, and articles on domestic
and foreign entomologists. Also included are a few articles
on the history of entomology.
Record
Unit 7308, American Ornithologists' Union, Biographical
Files, 1883-present. This record unit consists of
an alphabetic file of biographical information on past and
present ornithologists and naturalists, not all of whom were
members of the AOU. Entries consist of clippings, memorials,
press releases, obituaries, pamphlets, and reminiscences.
Most modern entries consist of curricula vitae, biographical
forms, and, often, bibliographies.
Accession 06-209, Personnel Cards, 1846-1966 . These cards
contain information on early Smithsonian staff. The cards
often include home addresses, job titles, promotions, birth
places, and sometimes have information on guards, building
management personnel, and other staff not normally found listed
in annual reports or other reference sources.
Record
Unit 93, Smithsonian Institution Fiscal Records, Federal, 1847-1942.
The employment history of Smithsonian staff can sometimes
be traced in the payroll records found in this collection.
These records include ledgers, account books, bills, daybooks,
journals, receipted vouchers, records of payment, requisitions,
cash books, and other fiscal records documenting the Smithsonian's
congressional appropriations.
Annual Reports of the Smithsonian Institution and the United States National Museum also contain necrologies, and are located in the SIA Reading Room.
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History of the Smithsonian Catalog
Smithsonian Board of Regents Database
The History of the Smithsonian catalog searches across
five databases documenting the history of the Smithsonian:
Smithsonian History Bibliography, Smithsonian History Chronology,
Smithsonian Legal Documents, Historic Images of the Smithsonian,
and Smithsonian Board of Regents. The Smithsonian Board
of Regents contains biographical information on the over 300 members
of the Institution’s Board of Regents, from our founding
in 1846 to the present. Entries consist of names, titles, birth
and death dates, occupations, tenures as a Regent, public law
appointing them, special roles as a Regent, type of Regent,
the state they are from, biographical citations and sources
of images. Results can be limited to a single database or sorted
by database.
To search the Board of Regents database, select the
combined keyword search screen and in the Limit by Database
box, select the Smithsonian Board of Regents.
To use the browse function for a single database, use the limit
function on your results screen. See Special Topics tab for
pre-set searches on special topics on the history of the Smithsonian.
To search the Catalog, go to www.siris.si.edu for the History of the Smithsonian Catalog.
Joseph Henry Papers Database
A computerized, item-level index of documents related to
Joseph Henry, first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
Each document is described by author, recipient, date, repository,
and number of pages, thus allowing for greater search flexibility
and the quick delivery of customized reports. For additional
information, please contact a member of the Institutional History Division, SIHistory@si.edu.
Smithsonian Employees Database
A biographical database on some 2,500 Smithsonian employees, from 1846 to the 1980s, can be searched by Institutional History Division staff. It is primarily focused on the 19th century and is not comprehensive. To request a search, contact SIHistory@si.edu.
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Revised 1/11/2008 |
