Archives and Manuscript Collections
Records of the Herbarium (RG4)
WILLIAM CAMPBELL STEERE RECORDS (1958-1988)
20.5 linear feet (21 boxes)
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
William Campbell Steere (1907-1988) was born on November 4, 1907 in Muskegon,
Michigan. He came from a long line of pioneering-naturalist Irish-Quaker
ancestors. His paternal grandfather, Joseph Beal Steere, was a professor
of zoology and paleontology at the University of Michigan and was the principal
influence on Steere's subsequent interest in, and pursuit of, a botanical
career.
William Campbell Steere graduated with "high distinction" from the University
of Michigan in 1929 with a B.S. in Botany. From 1929 to 1931 he moved to
the University of Pennsylvania to study cytology under W. R. Taylor and
serve fulltime as an Instructor at Temple University. In 1931, Professor
Harley H. Bartlett persuaded Steere to return to the University of Michigan
as Instructor. Shortly after his return he was awarded the M.A. (1931)
and the Ph.D. (1932). Joining the faculty in Ann Arbor, Dr. Steere progressed
through its ranks to Full Professor in 1946 and was appointed Chair of
the Botany Department in 1947.
While his early research and publications were on phanerogamic cytology,
Dr. Steere's fascination with bryophytes, mosses in particular, was formed
during his second year as a university student while working as a lumberjack
in Oregon ("I was attracted by the beautiful mosses of the woods."). Soon
after receiving his doctorate he focussed his research on bryology, a relatively
unexplored field in 1930s North America. From 1938 to 1942, and again from
1945 to 1946, Steere taught field courses in bryology and systematic biology,
concentrating on Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Other highlights of his career
during this period include: leading a biological survey of the Maya Region
of the Yucatan in 1932; serving as an exchange professor at the University
of Puerto Rico in 1935, where he developed a large collection of mosses
that provided the basis for Mosses of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
(co-authored
with Howard Crum); leading expeditions, from 1942 to 1946, to locate and
develop cinchona plantations in Latin America and provide alternative sources
of quinine for the United States during World War II (he also managed to
find time to collect bryophyte specimens, although they would remain uncatalogued
into the last decade of his life); heading field parties to Great Bear
Lake in Canada's Northwest Territories during 1948 and Alaska in the summer
of 1949 to study the effects of naturally occurring radioactivity on plant
life. These last two forays also introduced Steere to the world of Arctic
Bryophytes, which he would continue to explore from the 1950s until the
early 1970s.
Professor Steere left the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor for Stanford
University in 1950. He remained at Stanford until 1954, when he accepted
a one-year position with the National Science Foundation as Program Director
in Systematic Biology. During his time in Washington, D.C. he became involved
with Biological Abstracts, beginning a long-term commitment to BIOSIS
(BioSciences Information Service). Steere returned to Stanford University
in 1955 as Dean of Graduate Studies. He also continued to teach, advise
doctoral candidates in the field of bryology, and gather specimens of Arctic
Bryophytes.
In 1958, Dr. Steere accepted the position of Director at The New York
Botanical Garden. During his tenure at the Garden, Steere was able to reinvigorate
and maintain the Garden's tradition of excellence in science. The scientific
staff doubled, publications increased fivefold, a new library wing was
built, the graduate training program expanded; and, when Columbia University
changed emphases, he successfully transferred the cooperative Graduate
Program in Botany to Lehman College of the City University of New York.
In the midst of the exercise of these responsibilities, Dr. Steere continued
pursuit of his own rigorous research, publishing, and public speaking activities
while following the careers of his former students and encouraging yet
a new generation of bryologists. Steere also played a pivotal role in international
scientific cooperation. The recipient of numerous awards, he was active
in a variety of scientific societies in the United States, Europe and South
America. Because of the relationships among Japanese flora and the flora
of eastern North America, Alaska, and the Pacific Northwest, his special
focus was Japan.
Dr. Steere relinquished his duties as Director of the New York Botanical
Garden in 1973, assuming the title Senior Scientist. He formally "retired"
in 1977. As Senior Scientist and President Emeritus, however, Dr. Steere
maintained an office at the Garden and continued his work in bryology until
his death on February 7, 1988.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
The content of Steere's scientific papers is indicative of his research
and other professional activities when employed by The New York Botanical
Garden. The scientific records of Dr. William Campbell Steere document
the life, professional activities, and varied interests of one of the twentieth
century's foremost bryologists. Steere continued his scientific research
while serving in an administrative capacity as Director of the Garden from
1958-1977
Although divided into Personal Papers (PP), Scientific Records(RG4),
and Administrative Records (RG3) reflecting the original order of these
records, there is a significant amount of overlap between the collections.
These papers and records encompass a sixty-one year period from Dr. Steere's
experience as an undergraduate in 1927 to his death in 1988. Bulk dates
for his Personal Papers are 1927-1958. Bulk dates for his Scientific Papers
are 1958-1988. Bulk dates for his Administrative Records are 1958-1972.
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series 1: Correspondence - General
Series 2: Correspondence - Publications
Series 3: Specimen Identification
Series 4: Arctic Bryophytes
Series 5: Associations, Institutions, and Symposia
Series 6: Ephemera
Series 1: Correspondence - General, 1958-1988
6 lin. ft. Arranged alphabetically by correspondent surname
or topic.
This series reflects Steere's multiple interests in the field of botany.
The correspondence is international in scope. It includes requests for
assistance with plant identifications, exchanges about taxonomy, discussions
of field trips made by William Steere and his colleagues, and participation
in various conferences and projects. Also included are personal notes of
introduction and appreciation, letters of recommendation on behalf of colleagues
and former students, evaluations of proposals submitted to the National
Science Foundation, and staff memos. Of particular interest are records
of his unsuccessful attempt to mediate a three year dispute among the co-editors
of Moss Flora of Arctic North America and Greenland. It should be
noted that some of the letters to Dr. Steere are in Spanish, French, and
German. In a few instances Steere has appended an English translation and
his responses are always in English.
Series 2: Correspondence - Publications, 1958-1985
1 lin. ft. Arranged by correspondent surname or publishing
house.
This series documents Steere's activity as a prolific writer, editor,
and reviewer for the period of 1958 to 1985. Letters are both typed and
handwritten. Groups of letters are arranged alphabetically by correspondent
or topic and in reverse chronological order within the group. They include
letters from Steere as journal editor to submitting authors, as well as
his correspondence with co-editors, co-authors, and publishers of Steere's
manuscripts. Notable in this series is correspondence related to Plenum
Publishers, Evolutionary Biology (including the Dobzhansky Festschrift
Volume), the Garden Journal, and Flora Neotropica.
Series 3: Specimen Identification, 1958-1988
0.5 lin. ft. Arranged alphabetically by location, then by collector.
This series details Steere's meticulous approach to plant identification.
Containing location maps, observations of the terrain and environment surrounding
a specimen, and illustrations, this series was Steere's reference guide
throughout his career. It includes plant descriptions and Steere's additions
to these descriptions, and 2 glass negatives (Box 8). The series documents
Dr. Steere's taxonomic activity from 1958 to 1988, although many of the
identification lists were created prior to this period. The series also
includes copies of the American Geophysical Survey (AGS) blank map forms
as well as maps showing specific locations and routes to collection sites
for the Antarctic Continent and Antarctic Peninsula. Preliminary Determination
Lists are both typed and handwritten with multiple corrections/insertions.
NOTE: Box contains 2 glass negatives of Meesia Triquetra (dated July 3,
1930). The series also includes classical narrative descriptions (in English,
Latin, and German) as well as Steere's additions to these descriptions.
These documents are presented in a variety of media, including: original
typed pages, carbons, photocopy (both positive and negative), thermal copy,
spirit duplicated, and handwritten with ink, carbon lead pencil and wax
pencil.
Series 4: Arctic Bryophytes, 1954-1978
2.5 lin. ft. Arranged alphabetically by specimen name.
This series includes specimen descriptions and checklists; maps, photographs,
and portraits of Arctic wildflowers; and articles and manuscripts detailing
research and findings from Alaska, Iceland, the Arctic Yukon, and Antarctica
during the period from 1954 to 1978. These documents provide evidence of
Steere's preeminence in this field of research.
Series 5: Associations, Institutions, and Symposia, 1958-1980
2.5 lin. ft. Arranged alphabetically by organization
name, then reverse chronological order.
This series documents Steere's broad scientific interests and involvement
in professional societies from 1958 to 1980. This series includes conference
programs and presentations, reprints of articles and monographs, and related
correspondence. Representative associations and institutes include: American
Institute of Biological Sciences, Arctic Institute of North America, Association
of Systematic Collections, Biological Abstracts, Botanical Society of America,
Cary Arboretum, Desert Research Institute, International Botanical Congresses,
International Congresses of Systematic and Evolutionary Biology, and the
National Science Foundation. The series also contains Dr. Steere's appointment
books.
Series 6: Ephemera, assorted dates
3 lin. ft. Unsorted.
This series holds oversize materials such as ink sketches of arctic
bryophytes and other arctic flora, a large computer printout of a checklist
for the University of Alaska Herbarium Tundra Biome Project (1972), and
a variety of black and white and color photographs that lack a specific
context within the collection. Many of the photographs are unidentified,
curled, and fragile. Most of the sketches and photographs are not dated.
RELATED COLLECTIONS
The New York Botanical Garden
RG3 Records of the Chief Executive Officer: William Campbell Steere,
1958-1972
RG4 William Campbell Steere Records
PP William C. Steere Papers. 1927-1958
CFN Collector's Field Notebooks
Processed January 2001 by Susan Fraser under a grant
from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH-PA-23141-98).
For more information and a complete description contact:
Susan Fraser, NYBG
Archivist
The LuEsther T. Mertz Library
The New York Botanical Garden
Bronx, New York 10458-5126
(718) 817-8879
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