Finding Aid for the Flora Murray Scott Papers, 1919-1984

Processed by Russell A. Johnson; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé
UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
Manuscripts Division
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/
© 1997
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Finding Aid for the Flora Murray Scott Papers, 1919-1984

Collection number: 395

UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections

Manuscripts Division



Los Angeles, CA

Contact Information

  • Manuscripts 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
  • URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/
Processed by:
Russell A. Johnson, 1997
Encoded by:
Caroline Cubé
Online finding aid edited by:
Josh Fiala, November 2002
© 1997 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

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

UCLA Catalog Record ID: 2976803 

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:
  1. Autobiographical and biographical material, 1921-74.
  2. Photographs, 1925-68.
  3. Correspondence, 1928-84.
  4. Professional societies, 1956-77.
  5. Manuscripts and lectures, 1963-74.
  6. 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.

 

Autobiographical and Biographical Material

Box 1, Folder 1

Diary entries (Constantinople). 1921.

Scope and Content Note

(Annotated typescript)
Box 1, Folder 2

Daybook. 1935-1937, n.d.

Scope and Content Note

(Infrequent entries; manuscript notebook and loose sheets)
Box 1, Folder 3

Newspaper clippings, magazine articles, and press releases about FMS. 1950-1972.

Box 1, Folder 3

- Science Service press releases (1950, 1952, 1954).

Box 1, Folder 3

- UCLA retirement (1959).

Box 1, Folder 3

- UCLA Medical Center Auxiliary's Golden Bruin Award (1966).

Box 1, Folder 3

- Publication of monograph, Functional Plant Anatomy. 1969.

Scope and Content Note

(Includes photographs)
Box 1, Folder 3

- Honorary Doctorate awarded by St. Andrews University (1971)

Box 1, Folder 3

- Indefatigable octogenarian (1972).

Box 1, Folder 4

Daybook (manuscript notebook). 1959-1971.

Scope and Content Note

Predominantly Christmas Card lists; also notes on roots and physiological plant anatomy, and 1961 trips to Purdue, Scotland, and England.
Box 1, Folder 5

Bibliography notecards. ca. 1968(?).

Box 1, Folder 6

UCLA Oral History Program -- Preliminary Agreement. 1970.

Box 1, Folder 7

Feminist History Research Project -- Oral History Agreement. 1973.

Box 1, Folder 8

Biographical notes. not before 1974.

Scope and Content Note

re FMS's awards and accomplishments, compiled by Clara Weissglass (manuscript)
 

Photographs

Box 1, Folder 9

Photographs. 1925-1966.

Scope and Content Note

(Portraits, snapshots)
Box 1, Folder 10

Photographs. 1935-1968.

Scope and Content Note

(Individual and group portraits)
 

Correspondence

Box 1, Folder 11

General. 1928-1982.

Scope and Content Note

(Includes photographs)
Box 1, Folder 12

Mathias, Mildred E. 1962-1984.

Box 1, Folder 13

National Science Foundation (Reviewer). 1971.

Box 1, Folder 14

Sproul, Robert Gordon and Ida A. 1949-1965.

Scope and Content Note

Includes typescript letter from FMS to RGS re loyalty oath (1949)
Box 1, Folder 15

University of Sydney (Extramural examiner of Doctorate of Philosophy candidates). 1964.

 

Professional Societies (Memberships and Conferences)

Box 2, Folder 1

Botanical Society of America. 1972.

Box 2, Folder 2

California Native Plant Society. 1972.

Box 2, Folder 3

Faculty Women [UCLA Association of Academic Women [et al]. 1973.

Box 3, Folder 4

International Botanical Congress. 1962-1964.

Box 2, Folder 5

International Conference on Forest Tree Growth. 1960.

Scope and Content Note

(Program)
Box 2, Folder 6

Membership cards. 1975-1977.

Box 2, Folder 7

Pacific Coast Research Conference on the Control of Soil Fungi. 1957.

Scope and Content Note

(Program)
Box 2, Folder 8

Southern California Academy of Sciences. 1973.

Box 2, Folder 9

Symposium on Biology -- University of California, Scripps Institute of Oceanography. 1956.

Scope and Content Note

(Program)
Box 2, Folder 10

UCLA Emeriti Association. 1969-1975.

Box 2, Folder 11

UCLA Medical Center Auxiliary. 1968, 1973.

 

Manuscripts and Lectures

Box 2, Folder 12

History of Botany seminar at Clark Library, UCLA. 1963.

Scope and Content Note

(Program announcement)
Box 2, Folder 13

FMS tribute to Waldo H. Fergason. 1968.

Scope and Content Note

(Award nomination letter, annotated typescript lecture)
Box 2, Folder 14

Edinburgh trip notes. 1971(?).

Scope and Content Note

(Annotated typescript)
Box 2, Folder 15

La Brea. 1971-1972.

Scope and Content Note

(Correspondence, manuscript, clippings)
Includes correspondence with Giles W. Mead about research and personnel changes at the Rancho La Brea Tar Pits (Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History) and Scott's article, Stellate epidermal hairs some 10,000 years old.
Box 2, Folder 16

Roots chapter in Interactions between soil microorganisms and plants. 1973-1974.

Scope and Content Note

(Correspondence, manuscript, typescripts)
Box 2, Folder 17

Notebook on Russian history. n.d.

Scope and Content Note

(Manuscript)
 

Publications

Box 2, Folder 18

Scott, Flora Murray. Publications. 1926-1978.

Scope and Content Note

(Incomplete bound set of reprints, offprints, and photocopied articles)
Box 2, Folder 19

Offprints and reprints. 1925-1966.

Note

(Incomplete)
Box 2, Folder 20

Botany and electron microscopy. 1965.

Scope and Content Note

(Reports and article)
Box 2, Folder 21

Botany and Plant Biochemistry -- Department descriptions by FMS. ca. 1965.

 

Awards

Box 3, Folder 1

Order of the British Empire. 1919.

Scope and Content Note

(Recommendation letters, photocopy of diploma)
Box 3, Folder 2

UCLA Medal -- Citation. 1961.

Scope and Content Note

(Program)
Box 3, Folder 3

UCLA Medical Center Auxiliary Golden Bruin Award. 1966.

Scope and Content Note

(Correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs)
 

Miscellany

Box 3, Folder 4

Chemical Reviews, vol.1 no.1, entire issue -- Chemistry of lignin article marked up (by FMS?). 1934.

Box 3, Folder 5

Miscellaneous newspaper clippings, brochures, notes, cards. 1938-1975.

Box 3, Folder 6

St. Andrews University -- Development campaign brochure. not before 1967.

Box 3

9 audiotapes. 1948 and n.d.

Physical Description: (1/4 reel-to-reel).

Scope and Content Note

Includes one with box labeled Robert . . . July 22, 1948.