Descriptive Summary
Restrictions on Access
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Preferred Citation
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Processing Information
Biography/History
Scope and Content
Organization and Arrangement
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Descriptive Summary
Title: Thomas R. Howell papers
Collection number: 576
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
21.4 linear ft.
(21 record storage cartons and 1 flat document box.)
Date: ca. 1945-1999
Abstract: Thomas R. Howell was an internationally renowned biology and ornithology educator and researcher. The collection consists
of materials related to his academic work as a professor, field studies, and involvement in professional organizations. Materials
include field notebooks, Nicaragua research files, American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) checklist files, professional organization
and conference files, master reprint files for Howell's publications, correspondence, photographs, slides, film reels, audio
and video tapes.
Language of Materials: Most materials are in English. Some materials are in Spanish.
Physical Location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
creator:
Thomas R. Howell
Restrictions on Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Thomas R. Howell papers (Collection 576). Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, UCLA.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Tom Howell Jr., 2001.
Processing Information
Initial processing by University Archivist Charlotte Brown. Final processing by Kelly Besser with assistance from Megan Hahn
Fraser and Alyssa Goodstein, 2013.
Biography/History
Thomas Raymond Howell was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on June 17, 1924. He enrolled at Louisiana State University (LSU)
in 1941 and then took a leave from his studies to serve in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1946. Upon completion of his service,
he returned to school and received his undergraduate degree from LSU in 1946, and an M.S. (1949) and Ph.D. (1951) from the
University of California, Berkeley under the supervision of Professor Alden H. Miller at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology
(MVZ).
Thomas R. Howell was a professional ornithologist who taught and directed ornithological research at UCLA where he was also
director of the Donald R. Dickey bird collection and chairman of the Lida Scott Brown Fund for Ornithological Education. Howell
also established the Lida Scott Brown Library for Ornithology in the UCLA Biology Department, taught vertebrate biology at
UCLA and served as chair of its Biology Department from 1963 to 1966.
Howell joined the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU), the leading professional ornithology society of the country, in 1948
and for many years, served on its most important committee, the Committee on Classification and Nomenclature that is charged
with revising the standard checklist of North American birds and deciding the correct scientific names of these birds. In
1983 this committee published the sixth edition of the checklist, which was first published 100 years earlier. For the first
time, this revised edition included not only species of birds found north of the Mexican border, but also all the birds of
Mexico and Central America.
In addition to his service to AOU, Howell also served as President of the Cooper Ornithological Society, the leading ornithology
society of the Western United States, from 1964-1967 and he regularly attended the International Ornithological Congress.
When he wasn't advancing the study of ornithology in the classroom or via professional organizations, Howell was in the field
documenting his research via notes, photographs and film.
Howell's field research took him around the world but he dedicated much time to his work in Nicaragua, northern Chile and
southwest Ethiopia. In Nicaragua, he studied the geographical transition between North American and South American birds,
in Chile he investigated how the Gray Gull manages to breed in the desert safe from predators and in Ethiopia he conducted
a field study to understand the nesting adaptations of the Egyptian Plover.
Howell retired as professor emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in 1986 and continued to travel the world with his
wife Eleanor, who shared his passion for observing birds in their natural habitat. At the age of 80, Howell died on December
14, 2004 in North Chatham, Massachusetts.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of records related to the work of UCLA faculty member and ornithologist Thomas R. Howell. Materials
include field notebooks, Nicaragua research files, American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) checklist files, professional organization
and conference files, master reprint files of Howell’s publications, correspondence, photographs, slides, film reels, audio
and video tapes.
Organization and Arrangement
Materials were packed at Howell's residence by University Archivist Charlotte B. Brown and maintain the creator's original
order.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
COLLECTION CONTAINS DIGITAL MATERIALS: Special equipment or further processing may be required for viewing. To access digital
materials you must notify the reference desk in advance of your visit.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Howell, Thomas R.--Archives.
University of California, Los Angeles. Department of Biology--Faculty--Archives.
Ornithologists--California--Los Angeles--Archives.