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Clark Thomas Rogerson

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Records of the Herbarium (RG4)
CLARK T. ROGERSON RECORDS (1939-1997)
55.5 linear feet (48 boxes)

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Clark Thomas Rogerson (born 1918) is a mycologist, editor, educator, and authority on Hypocrealean fungi. Born in Ogden, Utah Dr. Rogerson gained his B.S. (1940) at Utah State University and his Ph.D. (1950) at Cornell University where he studied under Harry M. Fitzpatrick. During his years at Cornell he was a graduate teaching assistant in mycology in the Department of Plant Pathology. Upon graduation he was appointed to the faculty of Kansas State University (1950-57) where he was associated with the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station. It was here that he began publication on topics in plant pathology, including the diseases of grasses.

In 1958 Dr. Rogerson began his career with the New York Botanical Garden, first as Curator of Cryptogamic Botany (1958-67) then as Senior Curator (1967-89) and Senior Curator Emeritus (1990-present). At the Garden he continued his study and publication on the taxonomy of the Ascomycetes, especially of Hypomyces, a genus of fungi that parasitize other fungi. Dr. Rogerson has been an enthusiastic fieldworker and has collected fungi throughout the United States, notably in Utah and New York. During World War II he collected in the Philippine and Solomon Islands. He has been a guiding presence at mycological forays for many years and a tireless educator of amateurs interested in the world of fungi. He has held faculty appointments at Columbia University and at Lehman College (CUNY).

At the Garden Dr. Rogerson has had a distinguished career as editor of several scientific publications, notably of Mycologia, serving as Managing Editor (1958-89) and Editor-in-Chief (1960-65). He has also served as editor of the Memoirs of the New York Botanical Garden (1963-88), North American Flora (1963-88), and Flora Neotropica (1969-83). He has served as historian of the Mycological Society of America (1960-90) and the Torrey Botanical Club (1968-89). He was MSA president in 1969. He has also been a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and life member of the North American Mycological Association, Bergen Swamp Preservation Society, and Utah Academy of Sciences. In 1984 the Garden presented him its Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Rogerson currently resides in Utah.

SCOPE AND CONTENT

The Clark T. Rogerson collection consists of correspondence, notebooks, research papers, manuscripts and typescripts, specimen material, and graphic material including color slides, photographs, negatives, and illustrations of fungi. The collection covers his career as a mycologist at Cornell University, Kansas State University, and the Garden. There are significant holdings relating to his editorship of the journal Mycologia and other scientific publications.

SERIES DESCRIPTION

Series 1: Correspondence
Series 2: Mycologia
Series 3: Research Papers
Series 4: Education Materials
Series 5: Research Grants
Series 6: The New York Botanical Garden
Series 7: Manuscripts and Typescripts
Series 8: Affiliations
Series 9: Graphic Material
Series 10: Personal Papers
Series 11: Certificates and Awards
Series 12: Specimen Material

Series 1    Correspondence, 1944-1997
                  11.2 lin. ft. Arranged alphabetically by last name of correspondent.

There are nine containers of correspondence organized by individual, organization, and subject that relate to professional and scientific subjects, including research, publication, specimen collection and identification, and education. Notable correspondents include Howard and Margaret Barr Bigelow, William Bridge Cooke, Oswaldo and Marie Fidalgo, H. M. Fitzpatrick, Richard P. Korf, Josiah L. Lowe, Lindsay Olive, Ronald H. Petersen, Gary Samuels, Robert L. Shaffer, Rolf Singer, Alexander H. Smith, and Stanley J. Smith. Three files of correspondence (1992-96) are organized chronologically. Correspondence is also located in pertinent files of the series described below.

Series 2    Mycologia, 1952-1988
                  1.8 lin. ft. Arranged alphabetically by subject.

There are 69 files of correspondence, reports, reviews, membership and subscription lists, and publication materials relating to Mycologia and the Mycological Society of America (MSA). Nineteen files contain typescripts and correspondence of authors with publications in the monograph series, Mycologia Memoirs. Notable correspondence includes that with Lancaster Press (Robert H. Mann) and other publishing companies as well as Mycologia editors Margaret Barr Bigelow, Robert W. Lichtwardt, and Robert L. Shaffer.

Series 3    Research Papers, 1939-1996
                  26.9 lin. ft. Arranged alphabetically by subject.

There are 22 boxes of research papers that consist of specimen lists, laboratory records, dichotomous keys, index cards, and notes on fungi, authors, forays, cultures, collections, and other mycological topics. There are seven files relating to cultures of fungi cultivated by ants (Neal Weber series); 50 files (notebooks) of culture records (1959-1996); three files of field notes on collections from the Philippine Islands (1945) and the Solomon Islands (1944-45); three files of a host index of Utah fungi; 20 files of specimen lists of species of Hypomyces; 22 files of lists and notes pertaining to mycological forays; and an accession book to Dr. Rogerson's personal herbarium. Several files contain data on collections of neotropical fungi collected by Bassett Maguire, Gary Samuels, and others. There is a list of collection locations, a type specimen register, and an index to a portion of the color slide collection (see Series 9: Graphic Material). The index cards (14 boxes) consist of indices to Hypocreales, Peck collection, New York collection, cultures, fungicolous fungi, and others. There is a partial host index for Mycologia (vols 59-73) and two sequences of the Torrey Botanical Club index organized by genus.

Series 4    Education Materials, 1942-1987
                  1.0 lin. ft. Arranged alphabetically by subject.

This series consists of (1) lecture and field notes of Dr. Rogerson's graduate education at Cornell University (1942-1950), and (2) course outlines, correspondence, notices of appointment, meeting minutes, and attendance records relating to courses that he taught at Columbia University, CUNY Lehman College, Kansas State College, and the Garden. The latter pertain to courses in biology, mycology, cryptogamic botany, and mushroom identification. The Cornell University lecture notes include plant pathology courses taught by H. M. Fitzpatrick and Richard P. Korf and a lecture by Ernst A. Bessey entitled "Phylogeny of the Fungi."

Series 5    Research Grants, 1958-1992
                  1.2 lin. ft. Arranged alphabetically by title of grant.

There are 55 files of grant proposals to the National Science Foundation (NSF) and one file each to the National Geographic Society and National Institutes of Health. Several NSF proposals pertain to research of Dr. Rogerson and associates (Gary Samuels, et al); however, most pertain to his review and evaluation of grant proposals as an independent reviewer for the NSF. Reports and correspondence relating to the review of grants accompanies the proposals and attachments.

Series 6    The New York Botanical Garden, 1951-1996
                  1.4 lin. ft. Arranged alphabetically by subject.

There are 61 files relating to administrative, curatorial, and editorial responsibilities at the Garden. Ten files contain a complete series of annual reports of the cryptogamic herbarium from 1951 to 1983. There are related reports on the herbarium (vascular plants), Garden journals, and specimen exchange. Nineteen files pertain to Dr. Rogerson's editorship of Flora Neotropica; these contain texts and correspondence with the authors of monographs in the series. Remaining material consists of correspondence, notes, and reports relating to Garden committees, staff, and departments. There are two files of correspondence and memoranda with William C. Steere.

Series 7    Manuscripts and Typescripts, 1948-1986
                  2.2 lin. ft. Arranged alphabetically by last name of author.

There are 102 files of manuscripts and typescripts, primarily of published articles by Dr. Rogerson, Gary Samuels, their co-authors, and associates, on the identification, physiology, and taxonomy of the fungi. There is one manuscript and typescript of Dr. Rogerson's Ph.D. dissertation "Studies in the genus Hypomyces." One file contains a numbered series (incomplete) of reprints of published articles. Other authors include Margaret Barr Bigelow and Fred Seaver.

Series 8    Affiliations, 1961-1975
                  0.2 lin. ft. Arranged alphabetically by name of organization.

There are seven files of correspondence and reports relating to affiliations with organizations such as the Highlands, North Carolina Biological Station, the Kansas Academy of Science, and the North American Mycological Association.

Series 9    Graphic Material, 1952-1993
                  9.1 lin. ft. Arranged by medium.

The graphic material consists of Kodachrome slides, photographs, negatives, pencil sketches, and watercolor illustrations. There are five boxes of color slides (packed in smaller slide boxes within) of a wide variety of macro- and microfungi, including the Hypocreales. The photographs relate to correspondence, published papers, monographs in the Flora Neotropica and Mycologia Memoirs series, and the work of Dr. Rogerson's associates and students. There are several portraits, including those of Dr. Rogerson with other Garden staff. One box contains pencil sketches of species of Hypomyces.

Series 10    Personal Papers, 1968-1996
                    0.1 lin. ft. Arranged alphabetically by subject.

There are three files consisting of personal correspondence and biographical information.

Series 11    Certificates and Awards, 1954-1984
                    0.4 lin. ft. Arranged alphabetically.

There are seven files containing certificates and mounted awards. Two relate to the Garden's Distinguished Service Award (1984); one of these is framed. Three mounted awards relate to Mycological Society of America and to the North American Mycological Association.

Series 12    Specimen Material, 1965
                   One item.

There are four glass slides in protective covers containing microscopic structures of Nectria rexiana relating to pencil sketches of this species (see Series 9: Graphic Material).

RELATED COLLECTIONS

The New York Botanical Garden

PP       Gary J. Samuels Papers

RG4    Donald P. Rogers Records
           Fred Jay Seaver Records

RG5    Bernard Ogilvie Dodge Records
           William Jacob Robbins Records

Processed January 2001 by David Rose under a grant from The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH-PA-23141-98) and the Harriet Ford Dickenson Foundation.


For more information and a complete description contact
Susan Fraser, NYBG Archivist
The LuEsther T. Mertz Library
The New York Botanical Garden
Bronx, NY 10458-5126
(718) 817-8879
 
 


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