Myra A. Keen Papers

http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt229036f2 No online items Guide to the Myra A. Keen Papers Daniel Hartwig Stanford University. Libraries.Department of Special Collections and University Archives Stanford, California October 2010 Copyright © 2015 The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved. Note This encoded finding aid is compliant with Stanford EAD Best Practice Guidelines, Version 1.0. Guide to the Myra A. Keen Papers SC0305 1 Overview Call Number: SC0305 Creator: Keen, A. Myra (Angeline Myra), 1905-1986 Title: Myra A. Keen papers Dates: 1936-1981 Physical Description: 1.5 Linear feet Summary: Papers consist of correspondence with colleagues and former students, 1936-65; correspondence with her publisher Stanford University Press, 1937-80; and papers (correspondence, memos, reports, minutes, and financial records) relating to the Department of Earth Sciences and fossil and shell collections, 1937-1981. Correspondents include Edwin C. Allison, Ralph Arnold, Agustin Ayala-Castanares, Reginald Wright Barker, Herdis Bentson, Eliot Blackwelder, Welsey Roswell Coe, J. Wyatt Durham, Richard H. Jahns, Konrad Krauskopf, Owen T. Marsh, Erwin Remson, Donald B. Tresidder, Charles E. Weaver, and Ray Lyman Wilbur. Language(s): The materials are in English. Repository: Department of Special Collections and University Archives Green Library 557 Escondido Mall Stanford, CA 94305-6064 Email: [email protected] Phone: (650) 725-1022 URL: http://library.stanford.edu/spc Information about Access This collection is open for research. Ownership & Copyright All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California 94304-6064. Consent is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner, heir(s) or assigns. See: http://library.stanford.edu/depts/spc/pubserv/permissions.html. Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes. Cite As Myra A. Keen Papers (SC0305). Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif. Biographical/Historical Sketch Myra grew up on a cattle ranch in Colorado, about twenty miles south of Colorado Springs. Her parents farmed and raised cattle on the ranch. Myra rode a burro when she was four and bought her own horse when she was thirteen. She attended a one room school house for eight grades. She completed the eight grades in five years. Because of age qualifications she had to wait three years to attend high school. She attended Colorado College and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 1929 and graduated in Psychology in 1930. She won a scholarship to Stanford where she earned a M.A. in Psychology and then earned her Ph. D. in Psychology from the University of California in 1934. When in Berkeley, Myra went into a small curio shop on University Avenue to buy a copy of National Geographic. She noticed some sea shells in a display case. The owner talked about the shells and Myra found herself going back again and again to look at them. In 1934, in the middle of the Depression, Myra could not find any jobs in Psychology, plus she realized she was more interested in sea shells. During the summer she went to Monterey to learn about collecting sea shells. She spoke with Dr. Heath of the Hopkins Marine Station and was eventually introduced to Mrs. Ida Oldroyd, who as curator of shells at Stanford needed a helper. After a few month, encouraged by Professor Schenck, Myra began auditing some of his courses and became a Research Associate in Geology in 1936. In 1936 she became the Curator of Paleontology. For one year during World War II, the Head of the Department, Dr. Blackwelder and Myra were the only instructional staff in the Department, though Myra was not on the teaching faculty. Guide to the Myra A. Keen Papers SC0305 2 In 1954, Myra was promoted to Assistant Professor of Paleontology in addition to her duties at Curator. In 1965 she was promoted to Professor. She became emeritus in 1970. While Myra was at Stanford she was one of ten professors, only three of whom were in the sciences. After World War II, Dr. Hubert Schenck, a Stanford Geology professor working for General MacArthur in the re-building of Japan, had contact with the Emperor of Japan. The Emperor was a general biologist endmost interested in corals. He had a large collection. Dr. Schenck saw material in the collection that he felt was not properly identified. Dr. Schenck suggested that the material be sent of Dr. Keen to verified. That started a long correspondence ending in a private personal meeting between the Emperor and Dr. Keen in San Francisco in 1975. Dr. Keen has written many journal articles and four books. Her Sea Shells of Tropical West America is a classic work. In addition, she has helped hundreds of people at other institutions in various ways, particularly in telling them the correct name of their shells. After Dr. Keen retired in 1970, she remained active in the department. Description of the Collection Papers consist of correspondence with colleagues and former students, 1936-65; correspondence with her publisher Stanford University Press, 1937-80; and papers (correspondence, memos, reports, minutes, and financial records) relating to the Department of Earth Sciences and fossil and shell collections, 1937-1981. Correspondents include Edwin C. Allison, Ralph Arnold, Agustin Ayala-Castanares, Reginald Wright Barker, Herdis Bentson, Eliot Blackwelder, Welsey Roswell Coe, J. Wyatt Durham, Richard H. Jahns, Konrad Krauskopf, Owen T. Marsh, Erwin Remson, Donald B. Tresidder, Charles E. Weaver, and Ray Lyman Wilbur. Access Terms Allison, Edwin C. Arnold, Ralph, 1875-1961 Ayala-Castanares, Agustin. Barker, Reginald Wright. Barthel, K. Werner. Bentson, Herdis, 1914- Blackwelder, Eliot, 1880 Coe, Wesley Roswell, 1869-1960. Durham, J. Wyatt. Jahns, Richard H. (Richard Henry), 1915-1983 Keen, A. Myra (Angeline Myra), 1905-1986 Krauskopf, Konrad Bates, 1910- Marsh, Owen Thayer. Remson, Irwin. Stanford University. School of Earth Sciences Tresidder, Donald Bertrand, 1894-1948 Weaver, Charles E. (Charles Edwin), 1880- Wilbur, Ray L., (Ray Lyman), 1875-1949 Mollusks--North America. Mollusks--Pacific Coast (America). Paleontology Name Box Folder Occupation Allison, Edwin C. 2 10 Arnold, Ralph 2 11 Ayala-Castanares, Agustin 2 11 Barker, R. Wright, 2 12 Shell Oil Co. State Museum of Geology, Barthel, K. Werne 2 13 Munich Bentson, Herdis 2 14 UC Berkeley Bolin, Rolf 2 15 Hopkins Marine Station Blackwelder, Eliot 1 8 Dean of Geology Department. Guide to the Myra A. Keen Papers SC0305 3 Blackwelder, Eliot 2 15 Dean of Geology Department. Bryant, Donald L. 2 15 University of Arizona Scripps Institute of Coe, Wesley 3 2 Oceanography Drake, Robert 3 5 University of British Columbia Durham, J. Wyatt 3 5 UC Berkeley Jahns, Richard H. 1 14 Dean of Earth Sciences Jahns, Richard H. 3 7 Dean of Earth Sciences Krauskopf, Konrad, 2 7 Professor of Geology Student, long-time Marsh, Owen, 3 14 correspondent Former student, touching Milburn, Patrick 3 9 letter Remson, Irwin 1 3 Professor of Geology Tresidder, Donald 3 12 President of Stanford Weaver, Charles E. 3 13 Wilbur, Ray Lyman 3 15 President of Stanford Papers Box 1, Folder 1 Biographical sketches of Myra Keen Box 1, Folder 2 Stanford Natural History Museum 1945 Box 1, Folder 3 Stanford-Palo Alto Natural History Museum 1971-1972 Box 1, Folder 4 Paleontological Type Collection Fund 1946-1966 Box 1, Folder 5 Conchological Collection 1943-1960 Box 1, Folder 6 Paleontology Collections Committee 1971-1973 Box 1, Folder 7 Invertebrate Fossil Collection Questionnaire 1972 Box 1, Folder 8 Department of Earth Sciences 1943-1979 Box 1, Folder 9 Department of Earth Sciences 1980-1981 Box 1, Folder 10 Stanford University 1945-1974 Box 1, Folder 11 Stanford University 1975-1980 Box 1, Folder 12 Anonymous Paleontology Fund Expenses Box 1, Folder 13 Conchological Publication Fund Expenses Box 1, Folder 14 The Cenzoic Collection 1967-1970 Box 1, Folder 15 The Cenzoic Collection 1971 Box 1, Folder 16 The Cenzoic Collection 1972-1973 Box 1, Folder 17 The Cenzoic Collection 1974-1978 Box 1, Folder 18 The Oldroyd Fund 1941-1973 Box 2, Folder 1 Reviews of published works Box 2, Folder 2 Stanford University Press Correspondence 1937-1980, folder 1 of 3 Box 2, Folder 3 Stanford University Press Correspondence 1937-1980, folder 2 of 3 Box 2, Folder 4 Stanford University Press Correspondence 1937-1980, folder 3 of 3 Box 2, Folder 5 Stanford University Press, Contracts and Sales 1945-1963 Box 2, Folder 6 Stanford University Press, Royalty statements 1952-1982 Box 2, Folder 7 H. Bruce Franklin Box 2, Folder 8 Miscellaneous correspondence Box 2, Folder 9 Correspondence, author beginning with “A”, folder 1 of 3 Box 2, Folder 10 Correspondence, author beginning with “A”, folder 2 of 3 Box 2, Folder 11 Correspondence, author beginning with “A”, folder 3 of 3 Box 2, Folder 12 Correspondence, author beginning with “B”, folder 1 of 4 Box 2, Folder 13 Correspondence, author beginning with “B”, folder 2 of 4 Box 2, Folder 14 Correspondence, author beginning with “B”, folder 3 of 4 Box 2, Folder 15 Correspondence, author beginning with “B”, folder 4 of 4 Box 3, Folder 1 Correspondence, author beginning with “C”, folder 1 of 3 Box 3, Folder 2 Correspondence, author beginning with “C”, folder 2 of 3 Box 3, Folder 3 Correspondence, author beginning with “C”, folder 3 of 3 Guide to the Myra A.

Load more