John Campbell Merriam Papers, 1920-1938
Introduction
Abstract: The
correspondence and administrative memoranda of Carnegie Institution of
Washington President John Campbell Merriam.
Extent: 1.25 linear
feet: 4 document boxes
Acquisition: It is
unknown when these records were transferred to the archives.
Access Restrictions: There are no access restrictions to this collection.
Copyright: For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the
Archivist at the Carnegie Institution.
Preferred Citation:
John Campbell Merriam Papers, 1920-1938, Administration, Carnegie Institution
of Washington, Washington D.C.
Processing: A folder listing was included in the
Archives FinderÕs Guide in 1990.
Processing completed by Christian Kelleher in October 2002.
Separated materials were removed from their original locations
for preservation purposes and are housed in a single folder. The folder
includes primarily telegrams and other items printed on acidic paper. Preservation photocopies of these items
have been placed in their original locations.
J.C. Merriam Biographical Sketch
Paleontologist John Campbell (J.C.) Merriam was president of
the Carnegie Institution of Washington from 1921 to 1938. Born October 20, 1869 in Hopkinson,
Iowa, Merriam received a bachelorÕs degree from Lenox College in Iowa, then
attended the University of California to study geology and botany. After completing his doctorate in
Europe, where he studied with the paleontologist Karl von Zittel in Munich,
Merriam returned to the U.S. and joined the faculty of the University of
California. He taught and
performed research in the fields of vertebrate and invertebrate paleontology,
and in 1912 he was appointed chairman of the new Department of Paleontology on
the UC Berkeley campus.
MerriamÕs research at the University of California included
studies of shell mounds for fossils and Indian artifacts with the UC Berkeley
Department of Anthropology, the John Day fauna in Oregon, the fossil beds of
Virgin Valley, Nevada, and extinct faunas of the Mohave desert. He was most famous for his exploration
of the La Brea tarpits in southern California where he was responsible for the
preservation and description of numerous vertebrate fossils, including the
sabre-toothed cat Smilodon californicus. In the 1920s after taking on the
presidency at CIW, MerriamÕs original research decreased as his administrative
duties expanded. He was a regent
of the Smithsonian Institution from 1928, helped to establish a seismological
research program in conjunction with the California Institute of Technology,
was active in the conservation movement in California, including a term as
president of the Save-the-Redwoods League. John Campbell Merriam died in 1945.
Scope and Contents Note
This collection consists of the administrative papers
created by John Merriam during his tenure as President at the Carnegie
Institution of Washington.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in the following series:
Series
1: Correspondence
Series
2: Memorandum
Series 1: Correspondence, 1920-1938
This series is arranged chronologically and includes letters
written to and from Merriam who presided over the Institution largely from his
home and office in California and various research locations. The most frequent correspondents are
CIW Administrative Secretary Walter M. Gilbert and PresidentÕs Secretaries
Clarence Reeder and Samuel Callaway.
Series 2: Memoranda, 1921-1938
This series is arranged alphabetically by subject based on
the original order given them by Merriam. Administrative memoranda consist of
official notes recording the policy, business, and decision making functions
performed by Merriam during his presidency. Materials of special interest include memoranda regarding
the establishment and administration of a gorilla study in the Belgian Congo
(now Democratic Republic of Congo) in the 1920s and 1930s as well as several
folders of memoranda regarding historical research in the field of archeology.
Folder Listing
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Box
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Folder
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Series 1: Correspondence, 1920-1938
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1920
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1
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1
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1921
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2
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1922
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3-4
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1923
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5-6
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1924
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7
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1925
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8
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1926
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2
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1
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1927
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2
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1928-1929
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3
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1930
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4
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1931
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5
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1932-1933
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6
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1934-1935
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7
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1936
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8
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1937-1938
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9
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Series 2: Memoranda, 1921-1938
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General, 1923-1928
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2
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10
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General, 1929-1930
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11
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General, 1931-1932
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12
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General, 1933-1934
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13
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General, 1935-1938, n.d.
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14
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Administrative and Building, 1924-1938
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15
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Archeology Š Rome, 1923-1931
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16
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Belgian Congo Š Gorilla Study, 1922-1938
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17
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CIW Policy, 1921-1932
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3
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1
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CIW Policy, 1932-1938
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2
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Embryology Department, 1925-1938
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3
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Exhibits, 1927-1938
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4
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Fiscal Matters, 1921-1938
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5
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Geophysical Lab, 1923-1938
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6
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Genetics Department, 1922-1938
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7
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Guatemala, 1931
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8
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Historical Research Š Archeology, 1922-1938
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9-11
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Index Medicus,
1925-1926
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4
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1
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Lectures, 1927-1938
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2
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Marine Biology Š Tortuga Lab, 1922-1937
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3
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Miscellaneous, 1924-1934
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4
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Mount Wilson Observatory, 1922-1937
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5
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Nutrition Lab, 1927-1938
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6
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St. Augustine Restoration, 1936-1938
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7
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Seismology, 1924-1938
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8
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Separated Materials
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3
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9
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Subjects List
Topics: GorillaŃResearch
Archaeology and history
Occupation: Paleontologists
Corporate Names: Carnegie
Institution of Washington
Forms: Correspondence
Bibliography
Merriam, John
C. Published Papers and
Addresses of John Campbell Merriam. Washington, D.C.: The Carnegie
Institution of Washington, 1938.
Cooperation In Research. (A Testimonial Volume
Commemorating the Retirement of John Campbell Merriam from the Presidency of
Carnegie Institution of Washington). Washington,
D.C.: The Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1938.
Bancroft
Library. Inventory of the John
Campbell Merriam Papers, 1904-1934. Berkeley, California: University of
California, Berkeley, 1997.
