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American Association for the Advancement of Science correspondence and papers, 1916, 1928-1929

 Collection
Identifier: Mss .A461

Dates

  • 1916 - 1929

Creator

Restrictions on Access

Please contact Special Collections; materials are sometimes restricted.

Biographical sketch

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), established in 1848, was the first permanent organization formed to promote the development of science and engineering at the national level and to represent the interests of all its disciplines. During its first fifty years, the society's meetings, held in cities across the country, attracted prominent scientists and were covered in major newspapers.

Extent

1.5 Linear Feet (3 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

Organized into two groups, one for each meeting. Arranged alphabetically by correspondent within each group.

General Note

Box 3 of 3 integrated with collection, June 2012.

Scope and content

The collection consists of correspondence pertaining to two of the AAAS's annual meetings held in New York at the American Museum of Natural History, in December 1916 and from December 27, 1928, to January 2, 1929. The letters primarily concern the planning of the meetings, including operational details, with emphasis on the geological and mineralogical sections. Most of the material is typewritten (some carbon copies), with a number of handwritten items, including the unsigned English translation of an extract from an 1837 article on geology by [Louis] Agassiz, Concerning the erratic blacks of the Jura, that originally appeared in the Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des sciences (France). The extract is also typewritten with at least one carbon copy. Many letters were written by AMNH president Henry Fairfield Osborn and geology curator Chester A. Reeds. Other correspondents include Roy Chapman Andrews, Charles Berkey, R.J. Colony, R.A. Daly, W.H. Hobbs, Frank Leverett, Burton E. Livingston, G.R. Mansfield, physicist G.B. Pegram, F.R. Van Horn and Wen-hao Wong of the National Geological Survey of China. Some letters refer to contributions made to the Hospitality Fund and the Honorary Reception Committee. Other material includes newspaper clippings about the 1928 meeting and the Organization and Procedures of AAAS 1928-1929.

Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Sponsor
The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation provided support to make this finding aid available in ArchivesSpace (2016-2017).

Repository Details

Part of the Museum Archives at the Gottesman Research Library Repository

Contact:
American Museum of Natural History
200 Central Park West
New York NY 10024 USA
(212) 769-5420