Edwin Bernard Matzke Papers (PP)

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Biography of Edwin Bernard Matzke

Edwin Bernard Matzke was a member of the Board of Managers of the New York Botanical Garden from 1958 until his death in 1969. He served on the Executive Committee, the Buildings Committee and was Chair of the Scientific Committee from 1962-1969.

He was a member of the faculty of the Columbia University Dept. of Botany from 1929-1966, serving as Chair from 1958-1966. In 1966, he oversaw the establishment of the new combined Biological Sciences Dept. and served as Chair of that department from 1966-1967. Matzke wrote a "History of Botany at Columbia, 1754-1953."

His field of interest was cellular morphology and his research took him into comparing the morphology of animal cells and metal molecules with plant cytology. His first published work was a cutout plan for the Orthic Tetrakaidecahedron (1931). He collaborated with engineers, biologists and his own students. He was Advisory Editor for the Encyclopedia Americana from 1950-1960 and contributed 167 popular articles to that publication. He was active in the Torrey Botanical Club, Sigma Xi and Phi Beta Kappa.

Matzke was born and lived in the Bronx his entire life. The collection underscores the value he placed on education. He kept materials from his elementary school days at P.S. 53 and Morris High School through his college and graduate work.

He was granted a Regents Scholarship to attend Columbia University as an undergraduate. Columbia awarded him a Cutting Travel Fellowship, which enabled him to study at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Berlin during 1928-1929.

The inspired student became an inspirational educator. His relationship to his students was modeled on the mentorship of Carlton C. Curtis, his professor of Botany at Columbia to him. He succeeded Curtis as Department Chair in 1958. Matzke wrote an informal history of Botany at Columbia, 1792-1953 which is held in the collection of the LuEsther T. Mertz Library. He also served as Lecturer at Fordham University from 1942-1944.

He moved easily from teacher to collaborator. This is especially true of his work with J.W. Marvin of the University of Vermont and Regina Duffy. Duffy on the eve of her inauguration as President of Northwestern Connecticut Community College in 1969 wrote to him "Any measure of achievement of mine can never equal or even approach the impact of your influence on all of the thousands of undergraduates at Columbia College….Any small success I may attain is due in large part to the education I received from you."

Edwin Bernard Matzke died on Sept. 28, 1969 after a long illness. He was survived by his sister, Mrs. Joseph McCadden.

Scope and Content

The Edwin Bernard Matzke Collection (1915-1969) documents Matzke's career as an educator, his research in cytology and his personal relationships. It contains personal correspondence including post cards and greeting cards, a travel diary, professional correspondence, administrative correspondence, published and unpublished manuscripts, research material and lecture notes from his own student days through his time as professor and chair of the Dept. of Botany at Columbia University, illustration plates from 19th century natural history books, line drawing illustrations of cells and student manuscript theses. Research photographs are located with the relevant manuscripts. Personal photographs are found in Series 1 Personal Files. A manuscript prospectus outline for the new Britton and Brown Illustrated Flora (1952) is found in Series 1 Personal Files in the Henry A. Gleason Correspondence folder.

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.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Edwin Bernard Matzke Papers (PP), Archives, The New York Botanical Garden.

Acquisition Information

The Edwin Bernard Matzke Papers were donated to the New York Botanical Garden with Dr. Matzke's Library. A list of the books retained is found in the Vertical Files in the Edwin B. Matzke folder.

Processing Information

Originally processed by Laura Zelasnic, Project Archivist, May 2000, with grant funding from The National Endowment for the Humanities. (NEH-PA 23141-98). Converted to EAD in July 2006 by Kathleene Konkle under a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH-PA 50678-04).

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