Herman F. Becker Records (RG4)


Archives, The LuEsther T. Mertz Library
The New York Botanical Garden
200th Street and Kazimiroff Boulevard
Bronx, New York 10458-5126
Phone: 718-817-8604
URL: http://library.nybg.org/

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This finding aid was produced inEnglish.

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Collectors: Becker, Herman F. (Herman Frederick) 1907-1985.
Title: Herman F. Becker Records (RG4)
Dates: 1948-1983
Quantity: 2.5 linear feet; 3 boxes
Call Phrase: Becker (RG4)

Biography of Herman F. Becker

Herman F. Becker (1907-1985) was a reknown paleobotanist whose specialty was the Tertiary paleobotany of southwest Montana. He was employed by the NYBG from 1958 to 1974 and served as Curator of Paleobotany from 1965.

Born in Dusseldorf, Dr. Becker studied horticulture at the Berlin Botanical Gardens and emigrated to the United States in 1930. He was initially employed as a horticultural assistant and eventually became Superintendent of the Conservatory for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. He attended Brooklyn College from 1939 to 1947 when he received his BA. He went on to study botany at Columbia University and received his MA in 1952. He then went to the University of Michigan to study paleobotany with Chester Arnold and received his PhD in 1956.

From 1947 to 1968, Dr. Becker made a total of ten summer expeditions to the Ruby River basin of southwestern Montana. These shale deposits provided him with the research material he needed to complete his dissertation and he continued to write extensively about the deposits of this area. He also was known for his work in clarifying the structure of the controversial Sanmiguelia from the Triassic deposits of Colorado.

Dr. Becker received many honors during his lifetime. He was a member of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists, the Cactus and Succulent Society of America and the New York Academy of Sciences. He served as a fellow of the Geological Society of America and as president and vice-president of the Torrey Botanical Club. In 1977 he received a Distinguished Service Award from the Botanical Society of America. In 1981 he received a Distinguished Achievement Award from the Brooklyn College Alumni Association and in 1985 a symposium was held in his honor entitled "Evolution of the Modern Vegetation of the Northern Rocky Mountains. The symposium was jointly held by the Botanical Society of America and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.


Scope and Content

This collection consists entirely of the correspondence related to Dr. Becker's professional life. It is divided into two series and was organized by Dr. Becker himself. Although Dr. Becker was employed by the NYBG only from 1958 to 1974, all correspondence related to his professional life is included herewith and many correspondents began their relationships with Dr. Becker before he came to the NYBG and continued to correspond with him until his death. There are several groups of fossil photographs with their related correspondence attached. Dr. Becker's existing field notebooks are located in the Collectors' Field Notebooks Series. Notebook number 626 covers the Bronx, Upper Manhattan, Edgewater, New Jersey/the Palisades and Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Notebook number 627 covers Montana's Ruby River basin and Washington, D.C.

Bracketed numbers [] indicate unofficial Box and Folder numbers.


Arrangement

The collection is organized into three series:
Series 1: Domestic Correspondence, 1948-1983.
Series 2: International Correspondence, 1958-1981.
Series 3: Herbarium Records, 1959-1980.


Restrictions

Access restrictions

This collection is open for research with permission from Mertz Library staff.

Copyright

Requests for permission to publish material from the collection should be submitted in writing to the LuEsther T. Mertz Library of the New York Botanical Garden.


Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Arnold, Chester A. (Chester Arthur), 1901-
Becker, Herman F. (Herman Frederick), 1907-1985 -- Archives.
New York Botanical Garden Archives.
New York Botanical Garden. Herbarium -- Records and correspondence.
Paleobotanists.
Paleobotany -- Montana -- Ruby River Watershed.
Paleobotany -- Research.


Related Material

New York Botanical Garden

PP--The Herman F. Becker Papers

RG4--The Charles Arthur Hollick Records

CFN--Collectors' Field Notebooks

Yale University

In 1983, the NYBG Paleobotanical Collections were transferred to Yale University's Peabody Museum of Natural History on long term loan where they are maintained as a discrete collection.


Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Becker (RG4), Archives, The New York Botanical Garden.

Processing Information

Originally processed by Stephen Sinon, Assistant Archivist, April 1999. Converted to EAD 2002 in December 2006 by Kathleene Konkle under a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH-PA 50678-04).


Container List

 

Series 1. Domestic Correspondence.

Scope and Content:

Materials in this series include correspondence concerning Dr. Becker's publications, professional memberships, field work, grant applications, student recommendations and requests for reprints. This series also includes inter-office correspondence within the NYBG Herbarium. A brief history of the NYBG Paleobotany Collections is also found herein. Many correspondents are listed under the institution they are affiliated with rather than by their personal name. Dr. Becker maintained a close personal correspondence with many colleagues, especially Chester Arnold, Roland W. Brown, Harry D. MacGinitie, John A. Dorr and Joseph Wood.

Folder Title Date
[1.1] American Museum of Natural History 1958-1971
[1.2] American Philosophical Society 1973-1977
[1.3] Arnold, Chester 1948-1977
[1.4] Abbott, Maxine 1959-1961
[1.5] Andrews, Henry N. 1963-1974
[1.6] American Journal of Botany 1973
[1.7] Ash, Sidney 1968-1976
[1.8] Banks, Harlan P. 1959-1970, 1980
[1.9] Bartoo, Hariette 1962-1971
[1.10] Barghoorn, Elso 1959-1973
[1.11] Billings Geological Society 1960
[1.12] Black, Craig C. 1970
[1.13] Bock, Wilhelm 1971
[1.14] Boneham, Roger F. 1964-1973
[1.15] Brack, Sheila D. 1970, 1972
[1.16] Briggs, Elizabeth 1969-1971
[1.17] Broadwater, Helen 1971
[1.18] California

Axelrod, Daniel, 1959-1973
Chaney, Ralph, 1947-1969
Fry, Wayne, 1966-1967
Hoyt, Robert, 1971
Fossil Insects, 1965
MacGinitie, Harry, 1957-1980
Orr, Philip, 1969
Schorn, Howard, 1964-1968, 1974
Stebbins, G. L., 1971-1973

[1.19] Canadian Botanical Association meeting 1971
[1.20] Canright James E. 1967-1969
[1.21] Carmichael Dorothy P. 1980
[1.22] Carnegie Museum 2 1956-196
[1.23] Carnegie Institution 1958-1959
[1.24] Cavender Ted 1967-1969
[1.25] Chicago Natural History Museum 1959
[1.26] Colorado 1970-1975
[1.27] Cottam Walter P. 1953
[1.28] Cronquist Arthur 1972-1977
[1.29] Cridland Arthur A. 1969
[1.30] Daily Fay Kenoyer 1971-1981
[1.31] Darrah William C. 1969-1973
[1.32] Davis Robert F. 1964
[1.33] Dean Soria 1969
[1.34] Delevoryas Ted 1958-1971
[1.35] Dickinson William C. 1970
[1.36] Dilcher David 1961-1979
[1.37] Dorf Erling 1956-1983
[1.38] Doyle James A. 1967
[1.39] Eardley A.J. 1961
[1.40] Florissant Fossil Beds 1979
[1.41] Fossil fishes 1958-1971
[1.42] Garden Journal 1974
[1.43] General paleobotanical 1968-1971
[1.44] Geological Society of America 1974-1975
[1.45] Gould C.J. 1976
[1.46] Graham Alan 1961-1974
[1.47] Gray Jane 1957
[1.48] Hammond David 1976
[1.49] Hershey Gardens 1969
[1.50] Holmgren Noel 1979
[1.51] International Botanical Congress 1964-1969
[1.52] Jepson. Glen L. 1959-1973
[1.53] Kapp Ronald O. 1966-1980
[1.54] Kasper Andrew E. 1972
[1.55] Kosanke Robert M. 1973
[1.56] Langenheim Jean H. 1968
[1.57] Leopold Estella 1958, 1969
[1.58] Leppik E. E.

Manuscript for Fossil Evidence for Floral Evolution

1960-1970
[1.59] Long Charles R. 1979
[1.60] Lowther Stewart 1954-1960
[1.61] Maguire Bassett 1959-1974
[1.62] Mahan Alfred T. 1969
[1.63] Michigan 1970
[1.64] Mead Judson

Taggart, Ralph, 1972-1976
Cross, Aureal T., 1965, 1973
Wood, Gordon, 1973
Beck, Charles, 1961-1968
Benninghoff, W. S., 1959-1970
Dorr, John A., 1953-1975
University of Michigan, 1976
Zoology, Edmunds & Moore, 1965-1969

[1.65] Millay, Michael A 1973
[1.66] Mobil Oil Foundation 1973
[1.67] Moldenke, Harold N. 1970-1971
[1.68] Montana

Miller, Charles N., 1962-1980
Montagne, John, 1959-1975
Orr, James, 1961-1968
State University, 1960-1964
University, 1970-1972
USDA/USDC, 1956-1962
Alley, John A., 1964-1969
Wulf, John, 1965-1971

[1.69] Nassau County Museum 1965
[1.70] New Jersey 1960-1977
[1.71] NYBG Paleobotanical Division History n.d.
[1.72] NYS Department of Environmental Conservation n.d.
[1.73] Niklas, Karl 1973-1978
[1.74] Oregon State 1966-1975
[1.75] Pabst, Marie B. 1961
[1.76] Pacific Science Association 1965
[1.77] Paddock, Elton F. 1968
[1.78] Paleobotanical Section 1949-1972
[1.79] Peck, Raymond, E. 1970-1971
[1.80] Pfefferkorn, Hermann 1973, 1979
[1.81] Photographs 1966
[1.82] Porter/Love 1956, 1961
[2.1] Queens College 1963-1974
[2.2] Raven, Peter B. 1973
[2.3] Read, Robert W. 1973
[2.4] Recommendation for L. W. May 1976
[2.5] Reccommendation for Michael R. Seidel 1970
[2.6] Reccommended Reading 1976
[2.7] Reprints mailed/requested 1963-1978
[2.8] Reynolds, Howard C. 1967, 1969
[2.9] Riepe, Ronald 1970-1976
[2.10] Roper, Paul J. 1959-1973
[2.11] Rose Petals 1966
[2.12] Scheckler, S. E. 1975
[2.13] Schopf, James M. 1972-1973, 1979
[2.14] Scott, Richard A. 1960-1961
[2.15] Shoemaker, Robert E. 1966-1967
[2.16] Smiley, Charles J. 1969, 1978
[2.17] Smith, Geraldine 1964
[2.18] Smithsonian 1965-1973
[2.19] St. Clair, Pennsylvania fossil site 1975
[2.20] Steere, William C. 1958-1979
[2.21] Taylor, Thomas N. 1961, 1972
[2.22] Tennessee University/Sharp, Jack 1962-1973
[2.23] Texas University/DeFord 1961
[2.24] Thompson, James L. 1974-1975
[2.25] Ting, F.T.C. 1971
[2.26] Torreya 1973, 1977
[2.27] Traverse, Alfred 1957-1959
[2.28] USGS 1959-1962
[2.29] Utah Tidwell, W. D. 1969-1975
[2.30] Westing, Arthur 1964
[2.31] Wheeler, Elisabeth 1978
[2.32] Wilson, S. R. 1958
[2.33] Wolfe, Jack A. 1962-1967
[2.34] Wood, Joseph 1956-1977
[2.35] Yale 1960, 1974

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Series 2. International Correspondence.

Scope and Content:

Correspondents in this series are arranged geographically. Dr. Becker maintained a close personal correspondence with Julius Nagele of Stuttgart, Germany and Toshimasa Tanai of Sapporo, Japan. Germany, Poland and Japan are the countries most represented in this series.

Folder Title Date
[2.36] Argentina 1963-1977
[2.37] Australia 1971-1972
[2.38] Belgium 1971-1974
[2.39] Brazil 1973-1976
[2.40] Bulgaria 1973
[2.41] Canada 1958-1978
[2.42] Chile 1967-1968
[2.43] Colombia 1975
[2.44] China 1972
[2.45] Czechoslovakia 1969-1977
[2.46] Denmark

Koch, B. Eske, 1962-1974

1967-1981
[2.47] England

Chaloner, William G., 1959-1980
Corner, John, 1970-1974
Schove, Justin, 1960-1964
Scotland, 1962-1972

1959-1980
[2.48] France

Science Progres paper, 1965

1959-1973
[2.49] Germany

Jahnichen, H., 1969-1979
Kilper, Karl, 1967, 1969
Kirchheimer, F., 1959-1960
Magdefrau, Karl, 1963-1974
Nagele, Julius, 1958-1973
Ruffle, L., 1964-1975
Schaarschmidt, F., 1965-1974
Schweitzer, H. J., 1970-1975
Straus, Adolf, 1970-1971
Walther, H., 1965-1973
Weyland, M., 1959-1969
Various, 1959, 1964

[2.50] Holland 1962, 1975
[2.51] Hungary 1959-1973
[2.52] India 1959-1974
[2.53] Israel

Lorch, Jacob, 1959-1965

1959-1965
[2.54] Japan

Kimura, T., 1968-1980
Matsuoka, K., 1976-1979
Tanai, T., 1961-1980
Various, 1963-1976

1961-1980
[2.55] Korea 1976
[2.56] Lebanon

Basson, Philip W., 1974

[2.57] Poland

Kozlowski, Riman, 1959-1966
Skirgiello, 1960-1962
Srodoniowa, M. 1964
Szafer, W. 1959-1962

1968-1979
[2.58] Portugal

Teixiera, C., 1960

[2.59] Romania 1961-1972
[2.60] Singapore

Keng, H., 1966, 1972

[2.61] Sweden 1959-1973
[2.62] USSR 1965-1975
[2.63] USSR/Leningrad XII International Botanical Congress 1975
[2.64] Yugoslavia

Sercelj, 1973


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Series 3. Herbarium Records.

Scope and Content:

These files relate to the storage, display, identification, acquisition and loaning of the NYBG fossil collections. Included are lists of unidentified specimens, Dr. Hollick's numbering system (Becker's predecessor), requests for illustration material, field work expense reports and budget planning. These files were found among Dr. Becker's personal papers and have been transferred to the Herbarium Records Group.

Folder Title Date
[3.1] Budget 1967
[3.2] Fossil Shipments 1966-1967
[3.3] Illustration Requests 1965-1970
[3.4] Field Work Expenses 1962-1966
[3.5] NYBG Research Funding 1972-1975
[3.6] Unidentified Fossils 1974
[3.7] Loans 1959-1980
[3.8] Hollick Numbers n.d.
[3.9] Acquisitions 1920-1972
[3.10] Display & Storage Records

3 files

n.d.

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