Beloit College Archives

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1 Guide to the Beloit College Roy Chapman Andrews papers MC 14 Unique ID: Repository: Collection Title: us-wbb-mc014 Beloit College Roy Chapman Andrews papers Creator: Andrews, Roy Chapman, Date (inclusive): Extent: Access Note: Language: 1.71 linear feet (4 boxes, 3 volumes) This collection is open for research; however, certain materials are fragile and require Archives staff for handling, or use may be restricted altogether. English Publication Info: Beloit College (Copyright 2012) Colonel Robert H. Morse Library and Richard Black Information Center 731 College Street Beloit, Wisconsin Abstract: This collection consists mainly of materials written about or by explorer and naturalist Roy Chapman Andrews (Beloit College class of 1906), including personal correspondence between Andrews and other notable Beloit College figures like George L. Collie, Alonzo W. Pond, and Frank G. Logan. There is also an original manuscript copy of Andrews book Meet Your Ancestors, along with documents from the Roy Chapman Andrews Society. The remaining materials are mostly articles written about Andrews and his contributions to science. Nearly all of the collection dates from after Andrews' time as a student at Beloit College. This finding aid was completed in March, 2012 by Michelle Tom. Contents of finding aid are subject to changes and updates as necessary.

2 Historical Note Excerpt from: The Beloit Daily News (Monday June 6, 1960) Dr. Roy Chapman Andrews, a Beloiter who gained world fame as an explorer, zoologist, naturalist and author, died of a heart attack Friday night in Carmel, Calif. He was 76. The retired former director of the American Museum of Natural History in New York died in Monterey Peninsula community hospital. He lived in nearby Carmel Valley for the past five years. Received Many Awards A prolific writer, he was the recipient of national and international awards and medals and was named to numerous honorary organizations. He was regarded as an author who wrote as eloquently of housecats as he did of whales and dinosaurs. The son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Andrews was born here Jan. 26, He collected birds and animals and learned taxidermy at the age of 14. He graduated from Beloit Academy in 1902 and from the college four years later. Mr. Andrews was regarded as the college's most famous graduate. Soon after graduation from college, he went to New York and started an affiliation with the museum as a sweeper. His knowledge and interest in museum work quickly landed himself a staff position. He took a master's degree at Columbia University in Brought Back Dinosaur Eggs Dr. Andrews' first work was with whales, which he studied off the Pacific coast and in the Alaskan waters. He later traveled through Indonesia and North Korea. While on the Manchurian border, he conceived the idea of a series of expeditions to central Asia under the sponsorship of the museum. He probably gained his greatest fame for bringing back the first known dinosaur eggs in Prior to that time, it was not known dinosaurs laid eggs. Dr. Andrews gave the college plaster casts of his findings. On his trips, described as the biggest and most spectacular scientific expeditions any American had led up to the time, Dr. Andrews collected vast quantities of prehistoric remains. Among them was a complete skeleton of the giant cousin of the rhinoceros, the baluchitherium regarded as the largest mammal ever to walk the earth. A frequent visitor to Beloit, Dr. Andrews received an honorary doctor of science degree from the college in When the college sponsored expeditions to North Africa in the early 1930s, he and his former professor, George L. Collie, had long academic disputes on the place of man's origin. Dr. Andrews claimed man originated in North Africa. The dispute was never settled. Dr. Andrews led numerous expeditions to the Gobi desert in the late 1920s-early 1930s. He was the director of the American museum from 1935 to Upon his retirement he settled in Colebrook, Conn., where he spent time writing. His last book revolving from his studies, Meet Your Ancestors, was published in He gave the college his manuscript in 1956, when his class observed its 50th reunion. Dr. Andrews' 2

3 autobiography, An Explorer Comes Home, was published in He also held an honorary degree from Brown University. Surviving Dr. Andrews are his second wife, the former Wilhelmenia Anderson Christmas, whom he married in 1935, and two sons by his first wife, George Borup and Roy Kevin Andrews. His first marriage, to Yvette Borup in 1914, ended in divorce 17 years later. Scope and Contents of the Collection This collection consists mainly of materials written about or by explorer and naturalist Roy Chapman Andrews (class of 1906), including personal correspondence between Andrews and other notable Beloit College figures like George L. Collie, Alonzo W. Pond, and Frank G. Logan. There is also an original manuscript copy of Andrews book Meet Your Ancestors, along with documents from the Roy Chapman Andrews Society. The remaining materials are mostly articles written about Andrews and his contributions to science. Arrangement Note This collection has been compiled over the years through separate accessions of various sizes from various organizations and individuals. The arrangement order presented here has been imposed by the College Archives staff. Materials from the Roy Chapman Andrews Society are added periodically. Related Materials George L. Collie papers (MC 37) Beloit College Frank G. Logan collection (MC 66) Alonzo W. Pond papers (MC 86) Logan Museum of Anthropology records (AC 72) Corporate Subjects Logan Museum of Anthropology Personal Subjects Andrews, Roy Chapman, Collie, George L. (George Lucius), b Pond, Alonzo W. (Alonzo William), Added Authors Bausum, Ann Floca, Brian Pond, Alonzo W. (Alonzo William), Wilford, John Noble 3

4 Collection Inventory Folder Title Box Original Manuscript - "Meet Your Ancestors," Chapters 1-5, old and revised copies 1 Original Manuscript - "Meet Your Ancestors," Chapters 6-7, 9-10, old and revised copies 1 Original Manuscript - "Meet Your Ancestors," Chapters 11-13, three versions 1 Original Manuscript - "Meet Your Ancestors," Chapters Writings on Andrews, Biographical Data 1 Material from Logan Museum Accession Files #12, 51 1 News Articles, Miscellaneous, Bibliography 2 Logan Museum Exhibit, "Born Under a Lucky Star" 2 Logan Museum Exhibit Resources, Student Papers, National Geographic Magazine, June, Obituaries 2 Photographs 2 Publications, Roy Chapman Andrews Society - "Just Around the Corner" Newsletter, Roy Chapman Andrews Society - Speakers, Mike Novacek, February 21, Roy Chapman Andrews Society - Speakers, Mark J. Plotkin, January 30-31, Roy Chapman Andrews Society - Speakers, Steve Squyers, February 10, Roy Chapman Andrews Society - Speakers, Paul Sereno, Correspondence, Correspondence About Andrews 3 Correspondence, Alonzo W. Pond, Correspondence, Correspondence, Frank G. Logan, George L. Collie, "Dragon Bones and Dinosaur Eggs," Ann Bausum, Articles by Andrews 4 Articles on Andrews, Gobi, and Exhibit 4 Biographical Information from Pond Collection, American Museum of Natural History 4 "The Riddle of the Dinosaur," by John Noble Wilford 4 Chapman in Beloit 4 Articles about Chapman's Life and Travels 4 Miscellaneous Articles, Photographs, True Comics issue 4 "Andrews: Gobi Explorer" by Alonzo W. Pond Vol. 1 4

5 "Dinosaurs at the Ends of the Earth: The Story of the Central Asiatic Expeditions" by Brian Floca Vol. 2 "Nature's Ways" by Roy Chapman Andrews Vol. 3 5