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COLLECTION Identifier: far00002

Albert F. Blakeslee correspondence and notebooks

Scope and Content

This collection consists of correspondence between Blakeslee and other botanists between 1923 and and 1936 as well as correspondence pertaining to him, field notes, and his work with mucor cultures, specifically "Nutrient I-III".

Dates

  • Creation: 1912-1960

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is available by appointment for research. Researchers must register and provide valid photo identification. Please contact botref@oeb.harvard.edu for additional information.

Extent

0.42 linear feet (1 box)

Biography

Albert Francis Blakeslee was born on November 9, 1874 in Geneseo, New York. He graduated from Wesleyan University in 1896 and spent three years teaching science and mathematics before continuing his studies at Harvard University. He completed his A.M. in 1900 and a Ph.D. in 1904. Blakeslee's thesis, “Sexual Reproduction in the Mucorineae,” prepared under Roland Thaxter, earned him immediate recognition in the field of mycology.

Blakeslee became Professor of Botany in 1907 at the Connecticut Agricultural College in Storrs. He left in 1915 to accept a research position in plant genetics at the Carnegie Institution on Long Island. He married Margaret Bridges in 1919 and continued to work at the Carnegie Institution, where he served as director in 1936. After retiring in 1941 he and Margaret moved to Northampton, Massachusetts, where Blakeslee was William Allan Neilson Research Professor of Botany at Smith College until his death on November 16, 1954. He and Margaret had no children; she predeceased him in 1947.

Blakeslee collaborated with dozens researchers and he and his research associates were responsible for hundreds of publications. He was a member of numerous American and international scientific societies and was awarded honorary doctorates from the University of San Marcos (Peru), University of Delhi, University of Paris, University of Arkansas, Smith College, Yale University, and Wesleyan University.

Source

Smith HH. Albert Francis Blakeslee. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club. 82(4): 305-308; 1955.

Series Description

This collection is organized in two series:

Series I : Correspondence. This series contains correspondence between Blakeslee and others, such as Hagen, Lendner, and Westerdyk. It also includes correspondence of Dr. Lamb, Dr. Linder, and S. Satina.

Series II: Notebooks. This series consists of Blakeslee's notebooks, mostly dealing with mucor cultures. Also present are notebooks that describe his work with "Nutrient, I-III".

Processing Information

Processed by Lisa DeCesare

June 1998

Title
Blakeslee, Albert Francis, 1874-1954. Albert F. Blakeslee correspondence and notebooks, 1912-1960: A Guide.
Status
completed
Author
Botany Libraries, Farlow Reference Library of Cryptogamic Botany, Harvard University.
Description rules
dacs
Language of description
eng
EAD ID
far00002

Repository Details

Part of the Botany Libraries, Farlow Reference Library of Cryptogamic Botany, Harvard University Repository

The Harvard University Herbaria houses five research libraries that are managed collectively as the Botany Libraries. The Farlow Reference Library of Cryptogamic Botany specializes in organisms that reproduce by spores, without flowers or seeds. The Archives of the Farlow Herbarium of Cryptogamic Botany houses unique resources including personal papers, institutional records, field notes and plant lists, expedition records, photographs, original artwork, and objects from faculty, curators, staff, and affiliates of the Farlow Herbarium.

Contact:
Harvard University Herbaria
22 Divinity Ave
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2366