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Collection Overview

Creator:
American Institute of Geonomy and Natural Resources and Princeton University. Department of Geosciences
Title:
Department of Geosciences Records
Repository:
Princeton University Archives
Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/8910jt59t
Dates:
1845-2017
Size:
53 boxes, 1 folder, and 1 websites
Storage Note:
  • Mudd Manuscript Library (scamudd): Box 1-53
Language:
English

Abstract

Established in 1904 as the Department of Geology, and later known as the Department of Geological and Geophysical Sciences, the Department of Geosciences has grown to become the center for the study of Earth, atmospheric, oceanographic, and environmental sciences at Princeton. The records document the department from its 19th-century origins to the recent past with departmental files, faculty files, faculty meeting minutes and visual materials.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

The records document the department from its 19th-century origins to the recent past with departmental files, faculty files, faculty meeting minutes and visual materials. In Series 4, a variety of materials document significant figures in the department such as Arnold Guyot, Richard Field, and William B. Scott. A consistent run of faculty meeting minutes in Series 4 provides a detailed picture of the department's development over the course of the 20th century.

The records are rich in photographs, slides and film that document many of the department's expeditions and excavations in North America—primarily in the American West. Photographs and negatives appear throughout the records, and not only in Series 7: Photographs. Both Series 5: Field Trips and Expeditions and Series 6: Natural History Museum contain a subseries of photographs.

The collection also includes the records of the defunct organization the American Institute of Geonomy and Natural Resources.

Histories of the department written by members of the department appear in Series 3: Department Administration under "Department Histories."

Collection Creator Biography:

American Institute of Geonomy and Natural Resources

Established in 1904 as the Department of Geology, and later known as the Department of Geological and Geophysical Sciences, the Department of Geosciences has grown to become the center for the study of Earth, atmospheric, oceanographic, and environmental sciences at Princeton. Geoscientific studies at Princeton University date from 1854, when Arnold Guyot was appointed Professor of Geography and Physical Geology. Guyot was the sole instructor in geological sciences for 19 years and he was primarily responsible for the creation of the Geological Museum (located first in Nassau Hall and later in Guyot Hall), which grew from the fossils and geological specimens he collected for instructional purposes. Even in its early years, the department was a leader in geological and paleontological fieldwork. In 1877, three of Guyot's students - William Berryman Scott, Henry F. Osborn and Francis Speer - participated in Princeton's first field expedition to Colorado and Wyoming in order to collect vertebrate fossils. It was the first in a series of expeditions to the American west made by Princeton students and faculty, eight of which Scott himself led between 1882-1893. Scott was awarded the Blair Professorship of Geology and Paleontology in 1884 and was the department chair from 1904-1930. In 1909, five years after its founding, the Department of Geology moved into its home in Guyot Hall, a facility that also housed the department's growing Geological (or Natural History) Museum. Guyot Hall was designed by members of the department and funded by the mother of Cleveland H. Dodge (Class of 1879) who was a University trustee. In 1926, Richard M. Field initiated Princeton's Summer School of Geology and Natural Resources, a still-extant annual field course designed to teach students in techniques of geological and geophysical research. Under the tenure of chairman Harry H. Hess (1950-1966), the Department of Geology expanded its course offerings to touch on many subjects under the umbrella of geological science. In 1968, the name of the department was changed to the Department of Geological and Geophysical Sciences to reflect the new curriculum. The department became known as the Department of Geosciences in 1996.


Princeton University. Department of Geosciences

Established in 1904 as the Department of Geology, and later known as the Department of Geological and Geophysical Sciences, the Department of Geosciences has grown to become the center for the study of Earth, atmospheric, oceanographic, and environmental sciences at Princeton. Geoscientific studies at Princeton University date from 1854, when Arnold Guyot was appointed Professor of Geography and Physical Geology. Guyot was the sole instructor in geological sciences for 19 years and he was primarily responsible for the creation of the Geological Museum (located first in Nassau Hall and later in Guyot Hall), which grew from the fossils and geological specimens he collected for instructional purposes. Even in its early years, the department was a leader in geological and paleontological fieldwork. In 1877, three of Guyot's students - William Berryman Scott, Henry F. Osborn and Francis Speer - participated in Princeton's first field expedition to Colorado and Wyoming in order to collect vertebrate fossils. It was the first in a series of expeditions to the American west made by Princeton students and faculty, eight of which Scott himself led between 1882-1893. Scott was awarded the Blair Professorship of Geology and Paleontology in 1884 and was the department chair from 1904-1930. In 1909, five years after its founding, the Department of Geology moved into its home in Guyot Hall, a facility that also housed the department's growing Geological (or Natural History) Museum. Guyot Hall was designed by members of the department and funded by the mother of Cleveland H. Dodge (Class of 1879) who was a University trustee. In 1926, Richard M. Field initiated Princeton's Summer School of Geology and Natural Resources, a still-extant annual field course designed to teach students in techniques of geological and geophysical research. Under the tenure of chairman Harry H. Hess (1950-1966), the Department of Geology expanded its course offerings to touch on many subjects under the umbrella of geological science. In 1968, the name of the department was changed to the Department of Geological and Geophysical Sciences to reflect the new curriculum. The department became known as the Department of Geosciences in 1996.

Collection History

Acquisition:

Transferred from the Department of Geosciences in 1985 , 1995 [AR.1995.096], 1997 [AR.1997.007], 2004 [AR.2004.079], 2009 [AR.2009.026], 2016 [AR.2016.117], 2017 [AR.2017.001, AR.2017.015, AR.2017.067, and AR.2017.081], and 2018 [AR.2018.026].

Appraisal

Duplicates and published volumes available elsewhere have been separated from the records. Grades from summer field courses during the years 1955-1990 have been separated from the records.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Lynn Durgin in October 2010. Finding aid written by Lynn Durgin in October 2010. After significant accessions, the finding aid was revised by Phoebe Nobles in 2018. Materials were added from Accession AR.2019.043 by Kimberly McCauley in July 2019.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

The Department of Geosciences Records are open for research with some exceptions. Due to the presence of student educational records and personnel records, access to certain folders is restricted for 75 years from the date of creation. See individual folder descriptions for more information.

Access to glass-plate negatives is restricted due to their fragility. Where prints of the negatives are present, the prints are open for research use. Though digitization may not be possible for every negative, researchers may make requests to digitize material according to Mudd Library's policy on digitization of photographs.

For a general guide to access restrictions, please see the Access Policy for Princeton University Archives Collections

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. The Trustees of Princeton University hold copyright to all materials generated by Princeton University employees in the course of their work. For instances beyond Fair Use, if copyright is held by Princeton University, researchers do not need to obtain permission, complete any forms, or receive a letter to move forward with use of materials from the Princeton University Archives.

For instances beyond Fair Use where the copyright is not held by the University, while permission from the Library is not required, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

Credit this material:

Department of Geosciences Records; Princeton University Archives, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/8910jt59t
Location:
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library
65 Olden Street
Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
(609) 258-6345
Storage Note:
  • Mudd Manuscript Library (scamudd): Box 1-53

Find More

Related Materials

Researchers interested in these materials may also wish to consult the Princeton Scientific Expeditions Collection (AC012), Series 2: Geological Expeditions. In addition, the Special Collections at Firestone Library holds the William Berryman Scott Papers (C0265); a collection of William Libbey Correspondence (C0872); the Charles Henry Smyth Journals (C0823); the Arnold Guyot Collection (C1095); and the Arthur Buddington Lantern Slides of Russia (C1448).

Other Finding Aids

Full text searching of this collection's archived website is available through the Archive-It interface.

Bibliography

In the composition of this finding aid's organizational history, the history section of the Department of Geosciences' website (http://www.princeton.edu/geosciences/about/history/) and Alexander Leitch's A Princeton Companion were consulted.

Subject Terms:
Geology -- Study and teaching -- New Jersey -- Princeton.
Universities and colleges -- New Jersey -- Princeton -- Departments.
Genre Terms:
Correspondence
Minutes.
Photographs, Original.
Slides (photographs).
Web sites.
Names:
Princeton University. Dept. of Geological and Geophysical Sciences.
Princeton University. Dept. of Geology
Princeton University. Dept. of Geology.
Princeton University. Faculty.
Princeton University. Natural History Museum
Field, R. M. (Richard Montgomery), 1834-1902
Guyot, A. (Arnold), 1807-1884
Hess, Harry Hammond, 1906-1969
Jepsen, Glenn L. (Glenn Lowell), 1904-1974
Scott, William Berryman, 1858-1947
Smyth, Charles Henry, 1866-1937
Thom, W. T. (William Taylor), 1891-1979