Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Needham, Paul Robert
- Abstract:
- Paul Robert Needham was a professor of zoology at the University of California, Berkeley from 1949 to 1963. The focus of his research and teaching was ichthyology and fisheries management. The collection includes general files relating to Needham's fisheries management career, files on trout and other fishes central to Needham's research, files on the management of inland waters, general and subject files from Needham's career at UC Berkeley, and files on organizations and societies of interest to Needham. There are also a small number of photographs and a few scrapbooks.
- Extent:
- 10 cartons, 1 oversize folder (12.5 linear feet)
- Language:
- Collection materials are in English
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The collection is arranged into six series: Fisheries Management General Files; Trout and Other Fishes; Inland Waters; UC Berkeley General Files; UC Berkeley Subject Files; Organizations and Societies; and Scrapbooks and Photographs. Materials include correspondence, reprints, speeches, and other materials from Needham's early work as an aquatic biologist and as Director of Fisheries with the Oregon State Game Commission; files of correspondence, reprints, speeches, essays, and data on the management of trout, salmon and a few other fishes; files on specific projects relating to the management of streams, creeks, and lakes, especially in California and Oregon; general files and subject files (arranged alphabetically) from Needham's tenure at UC Berkeley; files of correspondence and other material relating to various wildlife and fisheries organizations and societies; two clippings scrapbooks; and a small number of photographs.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Paul Robert Needham was born in Illinois in 1902. His father, James G. Needham, was a respected biologist and expert on the insects of streams at Cornell University. Paul Robert Needham received his B.S. in Entymology in 1924 and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Limnology in 1926 and 1928 from Cornell. After four years teaching at Cornell and the University of Rochester, Needham took a position with the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries as an aquatic biologist. He was stationed at Stanford University from 1931 to 1940. Needham then took a position with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, stationed at Convict Creek Field Station in Owens Valley, from 1940 to 1944. In 1944, Needham became the Director of Fisheries for the Oregon State Game Commission, a position he remained in until he accepted a faculty position in the Zoology Department at the University of California, Berkeley in 1949.
The focus of his research and teaching was ichthyology and fisheries management. He had a special interest in the salmonid fishes, particularly trout. Many of Needham’s 101 publications deal with trout ecology, behavior, and conservation. In addition to teaching and research on campus, Needham played a central role in establishing the Sagehen Creek Field Station, a university facility near Truckee, in 1951. This station served as a base for the study of trout populations in the Sierras. The station eventually had nine buildings, research laboratories, teaching and study collections, an underwater tank for observing fish, and a hatchery. The station continues to operate as a University of California, Berkeley teaching and research facility today. Needham also traveled widely throughout Europe and North America studying trout in various habitats.
- Acquisition information:
- The Paul Robert Needham papers were given to the Bancroft Library by Gene Christman, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, in 1966.
- Physical location:
- Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
- Rules or conventions:
- Finding Aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard
Access and use
- Location of this collection:
-
University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft LibraryBerkeley, CA 94720-6000, US
- Contact:
- 510-642-6481