George B. Gordon Director's Office Records 0001.03 Finding aid prepared by Elizabeth Eyermann. Last updated on March 02, 2017. University of Pennsylvania, Penn Museum Archives August 12, 2013 George B. Gordon Director's Office Records Table of Contents Summary Information....................................................................................................................................3 Biography/History..........................................................................................................................................4 Administrative Information........................................................................................................................... 5 Related Materials........................................................................................................................................... 5 Controlled Access Headings..........................................................................................................................5 General note...................................................................................................................................................6 Collection Inventory...................................................................................................................................... 7 Alphabetical Correspondence.................................................................................................................. 7 - Page 2 - George B. Gordon Director's Office Records Summary Information Repository University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives Creator Gordon, G. B. (George Byron), 1870-1927 Title George B. Gordon Director's Office Records Call number 0001.03 Date [bulk] 1910-1928 Date [inclusive] 1907-1930 Extent 12.5 linear feet Language English Abstract George Byron Gordon, explorer in Central America and Alaska, and first to teach undergraduate and graduate courses in Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, was born in New Perth, Prince Edward Island, Canada on August 4,1870. Gordon attended the University of South Carolina for one year in 1888 then completed his degree at Harvard University. Selected as an assistant to John G. Owens in 1892, Gordon accompanied Owens on the Harvard-sponsored excavation at Copan, Honduras. When Owens died in the field, Gordon was given the leadership to close down that portion of the work and then continued as Director of the next six sessions in Copan, until 1900. While performing these duties, Gordon attained his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1894. Gordon joined the Free Museum of Science and Art(later the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology)in 1903 as Assistant Curator in the Section of General Ethnology. He led two expeditions to Alaska, in 1905 and 1907 with his brother MacLaren Gordon. Gordon was appointed Director of the Free Museum of Science - Page 3 - George B. Gordon Director's Office Records and Art in 1910 and oversaw one of the largest periods of growth in its collection and prestige. The Director's Office records of George Byron Gordon consist of correspondence in folders and in bound volumes. The records are organized alphabetically in the folders and by date in the bound volumes. Biography/History George Byron Gordon, explorer in Central America and Alaska, and first to teach undergraduate and graduate courses in Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, was born in New Perth, Prince Edward Island, Canada on August 4,1870. He was the son of James Gordon and Jane MacLaren Gordon, one of six children. Gordon attended the University of South Carolina for one year in 1888 then completed his degree at Harvard University. Selected as an assistant to John G. Owens in 1892, Gordon accompanied Owens on the Harvard-sponsored excavation at Copan, Honduras. When Owens died in the field, Gordon was given the leadership to close down that portion of the work and then continued as Director of the next six sessions in Copan, until 1900. While performing these duties, Gordon attained his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1894. Gordon joined the Free Museum of Science and Art(later the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology)in 1903 as Assistant Curator in the Section of General Ethnology. He led two expeditions to Alaska, in 1905 and 1907 with his brother MacLaren Gordon. The Gordons chose a new approach to exploration of the region. They descended the Yukon River to Tanana, then followed the Tanana south reaching formerly unknown Lake Minchumina, the source of the Kuskokwim River. Gordon named the hitherto unknown aboriginal tribe from this area as "Kuskwagamutes." His trip laid the groundwork for future exploration in the area and was described in Gordon's book, In the Alaskan Wilderness(Philadelphia:John C.Winston Company,1917). While selected courses in Anthropology had been offered in the field at the University of Pennsylvania by Daniel Garrison Brinton, George Gordon was first to teach a regular schedule of undergraduate and graduate courses from 1907 through 1915. During this time, the Department of Anthropology was established by Frank G. Speck. Gordon was appointed Director of the Free Museum of Science and Art in 1910 and oversaw one of the largest periods of growth in its collection and prestige. He established the Museum Journal which later became the Museum Bulletin. Gordon is also known for his keen eye as a collector, purchasing the finest of antiquities and driving a hard bargain to obtain them. He oversaw additions to the Museum's collection of treasures from Mesopotamia, Palestine, Egypt, and the American Continent. Gordon's most lasting gift is the Museum's Chinese collection. - Page 4 - George B. Gordon Director's Office Records Gordon was a voracious reader and writer of both scholarly works and those in the literary vein. He wrote on the history of London in, Rambles in Old London(Philadelphia:George W. Jacobs& Co.,1924) and this collection contains examples of his attempts to publish more popular material. In 1926, the University of Pennsylvania conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of Science on George Byron Gordon. Gordon died, following an accident at the Philadelphia Racquet Club, on January 30, 1927. At the time of his death, Gordon was Director of expeditions conducted by field staff in Beisan (Bet Sh'ean)in the area then known as Mesopotamia(Israel) and at Ur(Iraq). Gordon was a member of the American Philosophical Society, the Franklin Inn Club, the Lenape Club, the Rittenhouse Club, the Explorer's Club of New York, the American Anthropological Association, the American Ethnological Society, and the Authors Club of London. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. Administrative Information University of Pennsylvania, Penn Museum Archives August 12, 2013 Finding aid prepared by Elizabeth Eyermann. Related Materials Related Archival Materials note George B. Gordon General Ethnology Section Records George Byron Gordon Central American Expedition Records George Byron Gordon Personal Papers Controlled Access Headings Personal Name(s) - Page 5 - George B. Gordon Director's Office Records • Baker, Mary Louise, b. 1872-d. 1962 • Boas, Franz, 1858-1942 • Coxe, Eckley B., 1839-1895 • Fisher, Clarence Stanley, 1876-1941 • Gordon, G. B. (George Byron), 1870-1927 • Harrison, Charles C., 1844-1929 • Johnson, Eldridge Reeves, b. 1867-d. 1945 • Oldman, W.O., 1879-1949 • Rockefeller, John D., Jr., 1874-1960 • Wanamaker, John, 1838-1922 • Woolley, C. Leonard, Sir, 1880-1960 Subject(s) • Archaeology--History • International Congress of Americanists • Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition • Smithsonian Institution General note CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA MUSEUM University Archaeological Association (1889–1899) First President Joseph Leidy President William Pepper, Jr. 1893–1897 Board of Managers, Department of Archaeology and Palaeontology / Free Museum of Science and Art President Charlemagne Tower, Jr. elected Jan 14, 1892 resigned Oct 9, 1894 President William Pepper, Jr. elected Oct 9, 1894 died Aug 3, 1898 President Daniel Baugh acting Aug 3, 1898 elected Jun 22, 1899 President Justus C. Strawbridge elected Jan 19, 1901 resigned 1903 President Sara Yorke Stevenson elected Jan 15, 1904 resigned Feb 24, 1905 President Samuel F. Houston acting Mar 17, 1905 elected Jan 19, 1906 1910 Directors of the University of Pennsylvania Museum Stewart Culin Jun 1, 1892–Jun 28, 1899 George Byron Gordon Feb 1, 1910–Jan 30, 1927 Jane M. McHugh (Acting) 1927–1929 Horace H. F. Jayne 1929–1940 George C. Vaillant 1941–1945 Marian Angell Godfrey (Acting) 1945–1947 Froelich G. Rainey 1947–1976 James B. Pritchard (Acting) 1976–1977 Martin Biddle 1977–1981 Robert H. Dyson (Acting) 1981-1982 Robert H. Dyson 1982–1994 Jeremy A. Sabloff 1994–2004 Richard M. Leventhal 2004-2006 Jeremy A. Sabloff (Interim) 2006-2007 Richard Hodges 2007-2012 Julian Siggers 2012- - Page 6 - George B. Gordon Director's Office Records Alphabetical Correspondence Collection Inventory Alphabetical Correspondence, 1908-1929 (Bulk, 1910-1928) . 9 Linear feet. Box "A" general 1910-1928 (1 of 2). 1 Box Abbott, Gertrude. 1 Abbott, W. L. 1 Abdell, W. V. 1 Abercrombie, John S. 1 Academy of Natural Sciences. 1 Acevedo, Jose Miguel. 1 Achard, William C. 1 Adams, Caddilly. 1 Adams, E. G. 1 Adams, Franklin. 1 Adams, M. P. Greenwood. 1 Adler, Cyrus. 1 Aftandil, Arsene. 1 - Page 7 - George B. Gordon Director's Office Records Alphabetical Correspondence Aguirre,