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Waldo L. McAtee papers, 1900-1961, bulk 1900-1904

A Guide to his papers at the Indiana University Archives

Processed by Ryan K. Lee
Electronic finding aid encoded by Ryan K. Lee

Summary Information

Repository
Indiana University Archives
1320 East Tenth Street
Herman B Wells Library E460
Bloomington, IN 47405-7000
Phone: 812-855-1127
Email: archives@indiana.edu
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives

Creator
McAtee, W. L. (Waldo Lee), 1883-1962.

Title
Waldo L. McAtee papers, 1900-1961,  bulk 1900-1904

Collection No.
C231

Extent
.9 cubic feet

Language
Materials are in English.

Abstract
Waldo Lee McAtee was a famous ornithologist and an Indiana University Alumnus. This collection is comprised of papers from when he was a student at Indiana University.

Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

Advance notice is required.

Biographical Note

Waldo Lee McAtee was born on January 21, 1883 in Jalapa, Indiana. McAtee was a student at Indiana University from 1900-1906, majoring in Biology and Zoology, earning his A.B. in 1904 and A.M. in 1906. As a student, McAtee was active in his studies and was even the curator for the I.U. Zoological Museum, where his duties included classifying specimens. Also, when professors were absent, he was often called upon to teach science classes such as Embryology. During his studies, he took a summer to work in Washington, D.C., rearranging a collection of North American and Mexican bird specimens. This summer job introduced McAtee to members of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, who offered him a position while he was still an undergraduate.

Aside from academics McAtee was also a very active participant in I.U. athletic events, particularly football games, as a yell leader over a group called the “Howling Hundred”, where he rallied students to attend games and even wrote fight songs to taunt the opposing team. He would remain a devoted Hoosier fan throughout his life.

Upon graduation, McAtee joined the Bureau of Biological Survey of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where he worked for over 30 years studying birds and their feeding habits. He helped develop the Division of Food Habits Research within the Biological Survey and served as its first director. Along with this duty he served as the editor of the technical publications of the Biological Survey team. In 1935, McAtee created an abstracting service for scientific publications which was called Wildlife Review, for which he served as editor for 12 years from 1935-1947. He edited all the publications of the Fish and Wildlife Service of the U.S. Department of Interior, the agency that succeeded the Biological Survey, during World War II.

McAtee was instrumental in the creation of The Wildlife Society, a scientific and educational association based in Washington, D.C., that is dedicated to the promotion of wildlife management. He also played a role in the establishment of the Journal of Wildlife Management, serving as its first editor. McAtee was active in the American Ornithologists’ Union where he served as treasurer for many years. He was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. McAtee served as a technical advisor on the Scientific Consulting Board for Nature Magazine, a publication of the American Nature Association.

Throughout this time, McAtee was the author of over 1000 papers on topics from ornithology to botany, writing approximately 750 publications concerning the food of birds. He even wrote a book on the natural history of Washington, D.C. His work helped him gain world wide acclaim as a biologist and ornithologist. His research was also influential in helping to establish many of the nation’s bird protection laws.

Honors and awards followed Waldo McAtee throughout his career. He received the Distinguished Service Award from the Department of Interior for his scientific accomplishments. In 1938 he was named as 1 of 130 zoologists to be “starred” in the magazine American Men of Science, having been voted by his colleagues as an outstanding scientist in his field. In addition, McAtee was elected as a Fellow of the American Ornithologists’ Union. In June of 1961, McAtee received an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree from his alma mater, Indiana University.

Waldo McAtee was more than just a biologist. He also had many interests in folklore and poetry. He researched folk speech and folk remedies of the settlers of Indiana, also known as “Hoosiers,” and published some papers on his research. In addition he published a collection of his poetry in a pamphlet entitled “Verses”; one verse entitled “To the Arbutus” was requested for an I.U. songbook in the 1920’s.

Waldo Lee McAtee retired in 1947 and lived in Chapel Hill, North Carolina until he passed away from stomach cancer on January 7, 1962, at the age of 78.

Arrangement

This collection is organized into five series: 1) Lab Notes 2) Drawings 3) Publications 4) Correspondence 5) Realia.

Scope and Content Note

The papers of Waldo L. McAtee are organized into five series: Lab Notes, Drawings, Publications, Correspondence, and Realia. The bulk of the collection consists of the series Lab Notes and Drawings. The collection dates span from 1900 to 1961.

The Lab notes series includes notes McAtee took for courses he attended while a student at Indiana University. Some of these notes include attached drawings. This series is arranged alphabetically by topic. Some of the topics covered include biology and ornithology.

The Drawings series consists primarily of sketches of cells and other biology-related topics. Also included in this series are some maps of the Indiana University-Bloomington campus and the Monroe County area. This series has been arranged alphabetically by topic.

The Publications series include papers and pamphlets published by or about McAtee. Topics include birds, Hoosier folklore, and poetry. This series is arranged alphabetically by author.

The Correspondence series consists of two letters: one from Elisabeth Johnston in 1921 requesting McAtee’s song “To the Arbutus” for an I.U. songbook; the other from Waldo McAtee, written in December of 1961, to Professor Val Nolan, Jr., a member of the I.U. Athletics Committee, concerning McAtee’s opinions of I.U. Athletics and their recruiting troubles. This series is arranged chronologically.

The final series is Realia, which consists of an etched glass pane with McAtee’s and others’ names, ca. 1900, and McAtee’s A.B. and A.M. diplomas. The diplomas are located with oversized materials. Please ask staff for more information.

Separated Material

Photographs and oversized diplomas removed from the collection. Ask staff for more information.

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information
Accession 95/001, 95/004, and 2003/012
Usage Restrictions
The donor(s) of this collection have not transferred their copyrights for the materials to the Trustees of Indiana University. For more information, please contact the Indiana University Archives staff.

The Indiana University Archives respects the intellectual property rights of others and does not claim any copyrights for non-university records, materials in the public domain, or materials for which we do not hold a Deed of Gift. Responsibility for the determination of the copyright status of these materials rests with those persons wishing to reuse the materials. Researchers are responsible for securing permission from copyright owners and any other rights holders for any reuse of these materials that extends beyond fair use or other statutory limitations.

Digital reproductions of archival materials from the Indiana University Archives are made available for noncommercial educational and research purposes only. If you are the copyright holder for any of the digitized materials and have questions about its inclusion on our site, please contact the Indiana University Archivist.

Preferred Citation
[Item], Waldo L. McAtee papers, Collection C231, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.
Provenance
Collection material transferred to the Indiana University Archives by Robert Bruce McAtee, Waldo McAtee's son.
Processing Information
Processed by Ryan K. Lee

Completed in 2003.


Series: Lab Notes, 1900-ca. 1904 

Box 1 Biology,

ca. 1900  

ca. 1901  

Botany,

undated  

and Miscellaneous Famous Quotes, undated  

Charles Darwin and Botany, undated  

Evolution, undated  

Embryology, ca. 1902  

French Pronunciation Notes, undated  

Ornithology,

Field Notes on bird population around Indiana University, undated  

Pencil Sketch and Notes on various birds, undated  

Paleontology,

Part I, undated  

Part II, undated  

Brachiopoda,

Part I, undated  

Part II, undated  

Physiology, ca.1901  

Zoology, undated  

Series: Drawings, 1901-1947  

Box 1 Cell Biology and Zoology, undated  

(Fish eggs?)


Cell Biology and Zoology, undated  

Miscellaneous


Histology, 1901  

Eggs and Tissue Cells


Indiana University-Bloomington Campus Map, 1947  

Pen Sketching of Roads and Geographical Features


Monroe County Area Map, undated  

Zoology, undated  

Frogs


Zoology, undated  

Vertebrate Embryo


Series: Publications, 1905-1961  

McAtee, W. L.

Box 1 "Birds of the Vicinity of the University of Indiana. "In Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Sciences, 1904, 65-202. n.p., 1905. 

Grant County, Indiana, Speech and Song. n.p.: privately printed, 1946.  

Studies in the Vocabularies of Hoosier Authors: Baynard Rush Hall (1793-1863). Chapel Hill, N. C.: by the author, 1960.  

Studies in the Vocabularies of Hoosier Authors: Edward Eggleston (1837-1902). Chapel Hill, N. C.: by the author, 1961.  

Verses. Washington, D.C.: by the author, 1920.  

Richmond, W. Edson and Elva Van Winkle.

"Is there a Doctor in the House? " Indiana History Bulletin 35 (September 1958)  :115-135.

This article, about Hoosier folk remedies, is referred to by the authors as an addendum to articles previously written by McAtee. This copy of the article was given as a gift to McAtee.


Series: Correspondence, 1921-1961  

Box 1 Elisabeth Johnston to Waldo McAtee, 1921  

Waldo McAtee to Val Nolan, Jr., 1961  

Series: Realia, 1900-1906  

Box 1 Etched glass pane, ca. 1900  

A.B. Diploma, 1904  

A.M. Diploma, 1906 

Diplomas are located with oversized materials. Please ask staff for assistance.


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