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George C. Wheeler Correspondence, Scrapbook, and Biology Lecture and Laboratory Notes

 Collection
Identifier: MS 0001
Finding aid note: Stored offsite at the Library Service Center and require 24-hour notice for retrieval. Please contact the Woodson Research Center at 713-348-2586 or woodson@rice.edu for more information.

Scope and Contents

The Wheeler materials include biology lecture and laboratory notes, correspondence, an autobiography and a scrapbook. The bulk of this collection are two bound copies of the notes from the biology classes that George Wheeler took as a student at the Rice Institute through the years 1915 to 1918. His professors from these classes are the ones that make up all the correspondence in this manuscript collection. While at Rice, Wheeler enrolled in the following courses, which include both lectures and laboratory work: Elementary Biology (lecture: J. Huxley, lab: H. Muller and J. Davies), Cellular Biology (lecturer and lab: H. Muller), Heredity and Evolution (lecturers: H. Muller and E. Altenburg, lab: H. Muller) and Morphology of Animals (lecturer and lab: H. Muller). Please note, on the inside cover of the lecture notes, Wheeler pasted a postcard sent to him by Julian Huxley.

Wheeler kept in touch with three of his undergraduate professors from the Rice Institute - Huxley, Muller and Davies - during and well after his graduation. In the letters from Huxley, Wheeler received continuing advice, career counseling and encouragement from his former academic advisor. Huxley left the Rice Institute in 1916 to fight in the First World War and was stationed on the Italian front where he wrote several letters to Wheeler expressing his nostalgic feelings for Rice which persists in his later correspondence. The letters from Muller and Davies equally express fond memories of Wheeler and Rice Institute and provide Wheeler with motivation for his career and gossip on affairs at Rice.

In 1986, Wheeler authored a brief autobiography of his early career in biology entitled My Association with William Morton Wheeler. In this work, he describes vividly the reasons why he became a biologist, his studies and experiences at Rice Institute and his work at Harvard's Bussey Institute.

Also included with George Wheeler's records is the memory book that he maintained during his stay at Rice Institute. In this scrapbook, Wheeler kept photographs of the biology staff, field trips and the campus, as well as newspaper and magazine clippings and memorabilia from social events.

Dates

  • 1915-1957
  • Majority of material found within 1915 - 1916

Creator

Access Restrictions

This material is open for research.

Conditions Governing Access

Stored offsite at the Library Service Center and require 24-hour notice for retrieval. Please contact the Woodson Research Center at 713-348-2586 or woodson@rice.edu for more information.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from George C. Wheeler - Correspondence, Scrapbook, and Biology Lecture and Laboratory Notes must be obtained from the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University.

Biographical note

Hermann J. Muller (1890-1967) was educated at Columbia University and came to the Rice Institute in 1915 to teach biology. His tenure at Rice was brief and he later went on to teach at Columbia, the University of Texas in Dallas and Indiana University. In 1946, Muller won the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology for his work with mutations and X-rays.

Joseph I. Davies (1896-1966) was an Englishman who became Julian Huxley's assistant and followed him to the Rice Institute in 1914. At Rice, Davies earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in biology. Opposite of Huxley, Davies remained at Rice for his entire professional career. He served many years as Chairman of the Biology Department. In 1966, Davies died in the laboratory ten days from retirement.

Julian Huxley (1887-1975) was a prolific writer on numerous topics such as cancer research, religious philosophy, zoology and poetry and was best known as a popularizer of science. He was born in London, England and educated at Eton and Oxford University. Huxley taught biology at the Rice Institute from 1914 to 1916 when he went back to England to participate in the war effort. Huxley later taught at King's College at Oxford and from 1946 to 1948 he was the first Director-General of UNESCO (the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization). In 1958, Huxley was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

George Carlos Wheeler (1897-1991) went to Texas Christian University in 1914 with the intention of becoming a high school language teacher. His long-time interest in biology, however, dominated his spare time and upon transferring to the Rice Institute in 1915, Wheeler began to enroll in biology classes. His first teacher and academic advisor was Julian Huxley, who strongly influenced Wheeler to become a professional biologist. When Wheeler completed his undergraduate work at the Rice Institute in 1918, he enlisted in the army and was sent to the Yale Army Laboratory School. After Armistice, he carried out his military service at Base Hospital in Camp Dodge, Iowa. In 1919, he started his graduate work in entomology at Harvard's Bussey Institute. After he received his Ph.D., Wheeler went on to teach at Syracuse University, the University of North Dakota and the Desert Research Institute (University of Nevada).

Extent

0.5 Linear Feet ( (2 boxes))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract:

The Wheeler materials include biology lecture and laboratory notes, correspondence, an autobiography and a scrapbook. The bulk of this collection are two bound copies of the notes from the biology classes that George Wheeler took as a student at the Rice Institute through the years 1915 to 1918.

Provenance

All the materials in this collection were donated to the Woodson Research Center by George Wheeler. The correspondence and memory book arrived in September 1975, the bound lecture and laboratory notes in April 1976 and the autobiography in 1986.

Related Material

For more information on George Wheeler and his association with the Rice Institute, see this collection's control file. In one of his letters, Wheeler recounts his feelings and memories of Huxley, Muller and Davies. Also housed in the Woodson Research Center are the papers of Julian Huxley (MS 50) and Joseph Davies (MS 286). Additional information on these individuals may exist in the Rice University Archives as well.

Subjects

Related Names

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the George C. Wheeler Correspondence, Scrapbook, and Biology Lecture and Laboratory Notes, 1915-1957
Status
Completed
Author
David Sharron
Date
July 1998
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Woodson Research Center, Rice University, Houston, Texas Repository

https://library.rice.edu/woodson
Contact:
Fondren Library MS-44, Rice University
6100 Main St.
Houston Texas 77005 USA

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Harmful Content Statement
© 2023 Woodson Research Center
Fondren Library, Rice University
Physical Address: 6100 Main, Houston, Texas 77005-1827
Mailing Address: MS-44, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, Texas 77251-1892