Papers of William Morton Wheeler

William Morton Wheeler (1865-1937), entomologist and myrmecologist, taught applied biology at Harvard University from 1908 to 1934. Wheeler graduated from the German-American Normal College in 1884, then served as Custodian of the Milwaukee Public Museum from 1887 to 1890, when he left to become Fellow and Assistant in Morphology at Clark University. Following this position, he went to teach at the University of Chicago in 1892, where he remained until 1899, spending 1893 to 1894 studying in Europe. Wheeler then served as Professor of Zoology at the University of Texas until 1903, when he left for a position as Curator of Invertebrate Zoology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

In 1908, Wheeler accepted the position of Professor of Economic Entomology at Harvard University’s Bussey Institution. He became Professor of Entomology in 1926; from 1915 to 1929, he was Dean of the Faculty of the Bussey Institution, and from 1929 to 1936, he was Associate Curator of Insects at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology. Wheeler led the Harvard Australian Expedition from 1931 to 1932 on behalf of the Harvard Museum, which resulted in the return of 300 mammal and thousands of insect specimens to the United States.

Wheeler wrote prolifically, publishing over 300 publications during his career. He was involved in several scientific organizations, such as the Academy of Arts and Sciences, and received numerous awards and honors, including France’s Legion of Honor. He died in 1937.

Dora Emerson Wheeler (1869-1947) was a leader in New England civics and education. She graduated from Wellesley College in 1892, then worked as an assistant to Columbia University Teachers College physics professor John Woodhull. She received her Master's degree from Columbia in 1898, and married William Morton Wheeler the same year. The couple moved to Boston in 1907, where Wheeler became head of the market department of the Women's Municipal League. During World War I, she was one of three women members of the Massachusetts Board of Food Administration and was also a member of the Women's Food Committee of the City of Boston. Wheeler was involved in many other civic engagements, including a position as chairwoman of the Department of Education of the Women's Municipal League of Boston.

She was active in Republican politics, including with the election campaign of Herbert Hoover, and was a delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1920, 1924, 1928, and 1932. Wheeler died in 1947.

Adeline Emerson Wheeler (1899-1987) was the first-born child of William Morton Wheeler and Dora Emerson Wheeler.

Ralph Emerson Wheeler (1901-1980) was the son of William Morton Wheeler and Dora Emerson Wheeler.

The will of Benjamin Bussey, drawn up in 1835, gave an endowment to Harvard University for the establishment of an undergraduate school of agriculture and horticulture to be called the Bussey Institution. The Bussey Institution remained as an undergraduate school until 1908, when it was reorganized into the Graduate School of Applied Science (after 1915, called Applied Biology). In 1930, the Bussey faculty was merged with the faculty of Arts and Sciences and in 1936 the Bussey staff was transferred to the Biological Laboratories in Cambridge.