Descriptive Summary
Administrative Information
Biography
Scope and Content
Organization and Arrangement
Indexing Terms
Related Material
Descriptive Summary
Title: Flora Murray Scott Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1919-1984
Collection number: 395
Creator:
Scott, Flora Murray
Extent:
3 boxes (1.5 linear ft.)
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Abstract: Flora Murray Scott (1891-1984) was a professor of botany at UCLA. Her research focused on physiological plant anatomy. She
served as Chairman of the Department of Botany, and was the first president of the UCLA Association of Academic Women. The
collection consists of Scott's diaries, daybooks, photographs, correspondence, manuscripts, lectures, publications, clippings,
awards, and audiotapes related to her life and career.
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Language:
English.
Administrative Information
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of 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.
Restrictions on Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access.
Additional Physical Form Available
A copy of the original version of this online finding aid is available at the UCLA Department of Special Collections for in-house
consultation and may be obtained for a fee. Please contact:
- Public Services Division
- UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
- Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
- Box 951575
- Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
- Telephone: 310/825-4988 (10:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., Pacific
Time)
- Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Mildred E. Mathias and C.A. Schroeder, transfer, 1988.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Flora Murray Scott Papers (Collection 395). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young
Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Conservation Note
The collection contains nine 1/4 reel-to-reel audiotapes, in unknown condition. Photographs have been individually sleeved
in Mylar. Newspaper clippings have been photocopied onto permanent durable paper.
Biography
Scott was born in Craig, Scotland, on September 6, 1891; BSc, 1914; MA, St. Andrews University, 1911; Ph.D, Stanford, 1925;
came to U.S. in 1922 and was naturalized in 1935; faculty member at American College for Women at Constantinople (1921) and
Stanford (1922-25) before coming a professor at UCLA in 1925; Chairman, Department of Botany, UCLA; first president, UCLA
Association of Academic Women; research focused on physiological plant anatomy; became professor emeritus in 1959; honors
include Order of the British Empire (1919), and the UCLA Medal (1980); died in 1984.
Biographical Narrative
Flora Murray Scott, plant anatomist and professor of botany, was born September 6, 1891, in Craig, Scotland. She received
an M.S. (1911) and B.Sc. (1914) from St. Andrews University, Scotland. During World War I she worked in Danger Buildings at
Woolrich Royal Arsenal, London, and with Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps in France, services for which she was awarded the
Order of the British Empire in 1919. Following the war Scott served as Associate Professor in Biology at the American College
for Women in Constantinople (1919-1921) and as Instructor in Biology, League of Red Cross Societies, Geneva,
Switzerland (1921-1922). Her academic career continued at Stanford University, where she received the Ph.D. in 1925.
Scott joined the faculty at UCLA in 1925 and served as Chair of the Department of Botany, Plant Anatomist in the Agriculture
Experiment Station, Assistant Director of the Botanical Garden, member of the Legislative Assembly and many Academic Senate
and departmental committees, and founder and first president of the UCLA Association of
Faculty Women. Professor Scott's research concerns in biology ranged from fossils to living plants, with her major interest
centered on physiological plant anatomy. Her interpretation of plant structure using fresh tissue under the light microscope
was complemented with ultrasonic and electron microscope investigations. Scott attained the
status of Professor Emeritus in 1959; she died on March 24, 1984, in Los Angeles.
Scope and Content
Collection consists of diaries, daybooks, photographs, correspondence, manuscripts, lectures, publications, clippings, awards,
and audiotapes related to the life and career of botanist Flora Murray Scott. Significant correspondents include: Mildred
E. Mathias, Giles W. Mead, C.A. Schroeder, and Ida A. and Robert Gordon Sproul. Photographs includes portraits of Scott and
her colleagues, as well as classroom and laboratory scenes from early in her career at UCLA.
Expanded Scope and Content
The papers of Flora M. Scott span the years 1919-1984. Included are diary and daybook entries, photographs, correspondence,
manuscripts, lectures, publications, newspaper and magazine clippings, awards, and audiotapes. Newspaper and magazine clippings
and press releases document Scott's achievements in the study and teaching of plant anatomy and the major awards she received.
An incomplete set of publications is supported by a handful of manuscripts, lectures, and correspondence, most notably tracing
her examination of Pleistocene plant remains in the Rancho La Brea (California) dig. Photographs include portraits of Scott
and her colleagues, as well as classroom and laboratory scenes from early in her career at UCLA. Lacunae include lecture notes,
exercises, and examinations for classes either taken or taught by Scott, research and field-work data, and most
papers pertaining to the intramural committees and professional societies in which she was involved. Significant correspondents
include Mildred E. Mathias, Giles W. Mead, C.A. Schroeder, and Ida A. and Robert Gordon Sproul. The extensive correspondence
with the
Sprouls begins with Scott's 1949 letter outlining her objections to the University of California loyalty oath.
Organization and Arrangement
Arranged in the following series:
- Autobiographical and biographical material, 1921-74.
- Photographs, 1925-68.
- Correspondence, 1928-84.
- Professional societies, 1956-77.
- Manuscripts and lectures, 1963-74.
- Publications, 1926-78; Awards, 1919-66; Miscellany, 1934-75.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Scott, Flora Murray--Archives.
University of California, Los Angeles--Faculty--Archival resources.
Women botanists--Archival resources.
Related Material
Chequered Career: Scotland to U.S.A. [oral history transcript] / Flora Murray Scott, interviewee. UCLA Oral History Department interview, 1973. Available at Department
of Special Collections, UCLA.