The papers of Robert Thomas Orr, Curator of Bird and Mammals as well as Associate Director of the California Academy of Sciences. Included are field notes, publications, correspondence, manuscripts, negatives, 35mm slides, photographs, maps, and other materials.

Robert T. Orr was born in San Francisco on August 17, 1908. He, like so many others, was never able to leave his beloved city. He attended the University of San Francisco from 1925 to 1929, receiving his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. Dr. Orr continued his education across the Bay at the University of California at Berkeley. Here he received his Master of Arts in Zoology in 1931 and his Ph.D. (Ecology, Botany and Vertebrate Paleontology) in 1937. At USF’s 1961 commencement, Dr. Orr was awarded the Doctor of Sciences. Dr. Orr’s chief fields of scientific interest were: the systematics and natural history of birds and mammals (primarily bats and rabbits), ecology, and behavioral and population studies of marine mammals (primarily pinnipeds). His research of these topics took Dr. Orr on many expeditions to Baja California, Idaho, Tahoe, the Galapagos Islands and Ano Nuevo Island. While working towards his Ph.D., Dr. Orr worked as a research assistant at U.C. Berkeley and as a Wildlife Technician for the U.S. National Park Service. Shortly before completing his studies, Dr. Orr accepted a position as the Assistant Curator of Birds and Mammals at the California Academy of Sciences. In 1943 he was promoted to Associate Curator and in 1945 he became the department’s Curator. During his tenure as Curator, Dr. Orr kept himself busy. Beginning in 1942 and continuing until 1964, Dr. Orr taught biology as a Professor at USF. He also taught at U.C. Berkeley in 1961 and 1962. As if being a Curator and Professor was not enough, Dr. Orr also hosted and narrated a television program called “Explorers of Tomorrow” from 1956 until 1959. On September 24, 1964, Dr. Orr was named the Associate Director of the Academy, the post he would hold until his “retirement” to Senior Scientist in 1975. After his retirement, Dr. Orr enjoyed photography, fishing, and traveling the world (they visited China, Guatemala, Nepal, and Scotland to name a few) with his wife, Margaret. Dr. Orr was a member of many organizations, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society of Mammalogists, the American Ornithologists Union, the San Francisco Mycological and Zoological Societies, and the Society of Systematic Zoology. He was the author of 260 publications. Dr. Orr died on June 23, 1994.

130 boxes, 54.24 cu.ft.

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