Access
Use
Acquisition Information
Preferred Citation
Biographical Note
Scope and Content of Collection
Title: Urbain Joseph Kinet papers
Date (inclusive): 1927-1996
Collection Number: 97024
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material: In French and English
Physical Description:
13 manuscript boxes, 4 oversize boxes, 2 card file boxes, 1 oversize folder, 5 sound tape reels
(9.6 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Belgian-American scientist (1909-1989); Station chief in Uvira, Belgian Congo, Institut pour la recherche scientifique en
Afrique centrale (I.R.S.A.C), 1951-1960. Includes writings, field notes, reports, correspondence, maps, sound recordings,
and photographs, relating to study of the ethnology, flora and fauna, mineralogy, geology, meteorology and geography of the
Lake Tanganyika and neighboring regions in Africa, and of
Antarctica
.
Creator:
Kinet, Urbain Joseph, 1909-1989
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Access
Boxes 8 and 14 may not be used without permission of the Archivist. The remainder of the collection is open for research;
materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the
collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
Use
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquisition Information
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1997.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Urbain Joseph Kinet papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Biographical Note
Belgian-American scientist (1909-1989); worked in mineral prospecting and geology for the Comité National Du Kivu (1938-1944);
Station chief in Uvira, Belgian Congo for the Institut pour la recherche scientifique en Afrique centrale (I.R.S.A.C), 1951-1961.
Urbain Joseph Kinet (1909-1989)
1909 September 16 |
Born |
1938-1944 |
Worked for the Comité National Du Kivu. |
1940-1949 |
Assignment to undertake research on strategic minerals, rare earths, and special crystals for the Allied U.S. Armed forces
working in London and in the field in Africa.
|
1949 |
Awarded the "Médaille de l'Effort de Guerre Colonial" distinction from the Kingdom of Belgium. |
1951-1961 |
Worked as Chief of the "Institut pour la recherche scientifique en Afrique centrale" (I.R.S.A.C.), Uvira, Lake Taganyika. |
1960 |
Awarded the "Ordre Royal du Lion" distinction for I.R.S.A.C. service from the Kingdom of Belgium. |
1961 |
Began working for Department of Entomology in the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. |
1965-1978 |
Worked for the Department of Epidemiology and International Health & the George William Hooper Foundation at the University
of California, San Francisco.
|
1966 |
Traveled to
Antarctica
on research expedition.
|
1969 |
Earned Master's degree in Geography, San Francisco State College. |
1989 August 7 |
Died |
Scope and Content of Collection
The bulk of this collection consists of materials gathered during Kinet's time in Africa between 1938 and the mid 1960s. He
worked as part of the Comité National Du Kivu, an organization charged with economically developing the eastern Belgian Congo.
The
Comité National Du Kivu series contains administrative files of employees, construction plans, and reports of mineral extractions in the area. Included
in the reports are mineral extraction data during the World War II period from different mines in the eastern Belgian Congo.
Reports are arranged in reverse chronological order as originally received in bounded folders. Kinet also managed I.R.S.A.C.'s
Uvira station; the
I.R.S.A.C. series contains administrative documents pertinent to his time as local chief (Chief de Poste).
The
Field Journals series contains Kinet's original observations and journals from his
Antarctica
expedition, which received sponsorship from the Smithsonian Institute and the Bishop Museum in Hawaii. Included also are
journals for a research trip to the Arctic.
The
Photographic Materials series contains original photographs of areas in the Belgian Congo and central Africa. The bulk of photos in the photographic series
were taken in the Belgian Congo's eastern half or areas near the border areas with neighboring Tanzania and Burundi. Photo
albums also contain original photos of the Belgian Congo as well as photos of North Africa (mostly Algeria or nearby Saharan
desert region) and photo postcards of Egypt. The collection also contains sound recordings and 8mm motion picture film.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Antarctica
Congo (Democratic Republic) -- Research
Africa -- Research
Tanganyika, Lake
Maps
Institut pour la recherche scientifique en Afrique centrale