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Guide to the John Campbell Merriam papers, 1904-1934
BANC MSS C-B 970
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Collection Title: John Campbell Merriam Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1904-1934
Collection Number: BANC MSS C-B 970
Creator:
Merriam, John C. (John Campbell), 1869-1945
Extent:
Number of containers: 15 boxes, 1 carton
Linear feet: 8.75
Repository: The
Bancroft Library.
Berkeley, California 94720-6000
Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Abstract: Correspondence, manuscripts and reprints of articles, and miscellaneous papers, relating to his career at the University,
and to the discovery of fossil remains in the La Brea tar pits.
Languages Represented:
English
Collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft
Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which
must also be obtained by the reader.
[Identification of item], John Campbell Merriam papers, BANC MSS C-B 970, The Bancroft Library, University of California,
Berkeley.
Born in Iowa, Oct, 20, 1869, John Campbell Merriam, paleontologist, educator and administrator, grew up in the midwest, where
he attended Lenox College. After obtaining his doctorate from Munich, Merriam came to the University of California as an instructor
of paleontology and historical geology in 1894, becoming a full professor in 1912, and Dean of the Faculties in 1920.
While at the University, he worked on the question of the authenticity of the Calaveras skull, explored shell mounds for fossils
and Indian artifacts in conjunction with the Department of Anthropology, studied the John Day fauna in Oregon, the fossil
beds of Virgin Valley, Nevada, and extinct faunas of the Mohave area. Of great interest to him was the discovery of fossil
remains in the La Brea tar pits of southern California. It was due in large part to Merriam's foresight that the material
found in the pits was preserved for scientific research. Merriam was also involved in the negotiations with Annie Alexander
for the establishment of the University's Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. As a member of the University Press Editorial Committee,
he actively supported publication of reports on paleontological discoveries. Merriam resigned in June 1920 to become president
of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, a post he retained until 1938. He was also a Regent of the Smithsonian from 1928.
Merriam belonged to many scientific societies and was particularly interested in the formation of a paleontological society
which would publish current articles. He always retained an interest in the West, and, as president of the Save-the-Redwoods
League, was active in the conservation movement in California.
The papers, transferred from Archives in March 1963, date for the most part from 1905 to 1916 --the later years being very
fragmentarily represented --and relate mainly to his career as professor of paleontology at the University of California,
and to paleontological discoveries in California. The collection consists largely of correspondence, and includes some subject
files concerning Merriam's participation in various university committees, material relating to the Department of Paleontology,
and a few manuscripts and reprints of his articles and addresses.