Archives and Manuscript Collections
Personal Papers
THE ROBERT ALMER HARPER PAPERS (1910-1946)
2 linear inches (1 box)
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Robert
Almer Harper, (1862-1946), was born in Le Claire, Iowa, on January 21,
1862. He received a B.A. (1886) and an M.A. (1891) degree from Oberlin
College and a Ph.D. from the University of Bonn, Germany in 1896. Harper
taught at Gates College (1886-1888), Lake Forest (Ill.) Academy (1889-1891),
and Lake Forest University (1891-1898). He was Professor of Botany at the
University of Wisconsin from 1898 to 1911 and served as Torrey Professor
of Botany at Columbia University from 1911 until his retirement in 1930.
While Chief of the Board of Scientific Directors of the New York Botanical
Garden in the 1920s, Harper conducted a series of experiments to find better
methods of treating diseased plants. He wrote widely and belonged to many
scientific organizations, among them the National Academy of Sciences,
the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society
and the Botanical Society of America. Harper died on May 12, 1946, in Bedford.
Virginia, at the age of eighty-four.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
The collection comprises materials relating to his professional career
as a research botanist, including correspondence with scientific colleagues,
lectures and notes, and materials on the Tropical Plant Research Foundation.
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series 1: Biographical information
Series 2: Correspondence
Series 3: Subject files
Series 4: Tropical Plant Research Foundation
Series 1 Biographical information, 1910-1946
and undated
2 folders arranged chronologically
One file with general information and a photograph; and one with information
relating to his honorary degree from Columbia University in 1929.
Series 2 Correspondence, 1912-1939
18 files, arranged alphabetically
Correspondence with scientific colleagues on a variety of subjects.
Series 3 Subject files, 1917-1934 and undated
4 files
On various scientific and organizational topics.
Series 4 Tropical Plant Research Foundation,
1925-1926 and undated
2 files
Memoranda and correspondence, including many with W.A. Orton, Director
and General Manager and a photograph of a laboratory at Boruga, Cuba.
RELATED COLLECTIONS
New York Botanical Garden
RG2 Records of the Board of Managers
RG4 Bernard Ogilvie Dodge Records
Processed June 2000 by Natalie S. Brody, Volunteer Archives
Assistant.
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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