Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Leon H. Schmidt Collection
- Dates:
- 1960-1982
- Creators:
- Schmidt, Leon H.
- Abstract:
- The Leon H. Schmidt Collection documents the California National Primate Research Center through materials collected by Schmidt, who was its founding director from 1963-1968. Schmidt was also Professor of Comparative Pharmacology in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and Professor of Pharmacology in its School of Medicine.
- Extent:
- 1 linear foot
- Language:
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Leon H. Schmidt Collection, D-209, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The collection contains early photographs, 35mm slides, and lantern slides of the California National Primate Research Center from 1960-1982.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Leon Herbert Schmidt was born in Huron, Ohio, in 1909. In 1929, he earned a B.A. from DePauw University, where he focused mostly on chemistry, physics, and zoology, and he earned a Ph.D. in physiological chemistry at the University of Cincinnati in 1932. After completing his graduate studies, Schmidt remained at the University of Cincinnati until the early 1960s, rising from Research Fellow to Research Professor of Biological Chemistry, as well as working at the nearby Christ Hospital Institute, where he ultimately became director. He gained national prominence as a medical researcher early in his career, and his studies sustained a reputation for their comprehensive and meticulous nature. His primary research focus was the control of infectious diseases, specifically primate biology and malarial diseases. While in Cincinnati, he also developed an original experimental primate model for treatment of tuberculosis that influenced its treatment and that of other mycobacterial diseases in humans and animals. In 1963, he moved to California and became the founding director of the National Center for Primate Biology at the University of California, Davis, which also hired him to be Professor of Comparative Pharmacology in its School of Veterinary Medicine and Professor of Pharmacology in its School of Medicine. He then moved to Birmingham in 1969, where he became Director of the Chemotherapy Research Department and Head of the Division of Experimental Therapeutics and Toxicology at the Southern Research Institute. In addition to research, Schmidt worked to expand the distribution of scientific literature, joining the editorial boards of seven scientific journals. The journal with which he worked the most was "Transactions of the Annual Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy." He became an editor in 1970 and spearheaded its conversion into an international monthly journal in 1972. He later worked as its editor in chief between 1980 and 1985. Schmidt’s own publications were prolific. He produced 165 scientific reports of original research and 59 technical reports on cancer chemotherapy, the pharmacology of antimalarial drugs, and the characteristics of antituberculosis drugs. Schmidt’s accomplishments are reflected in the number of awards and honors he won. In 1956, he was the Charles Franklin Craig Lecturer of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, who also awarded him with the LePrince Medal in 1982, and was cited as Eminent Chemist of the American Chemical Society. In 1967, he was cited as the Trudeau Medalist of the National Tuberculosis Association. In 1968, DePauw University granted him an honorary Doctorate of Science degree. In 1972, he was cited as the John Barnwell Memorial Lecturer. Schmidt officially retired in 1976 and remained in Birmingham, but he continued teaching and writing until his death in 1989. His post-retirement activities included working as a consultant at the U.S. Army’s Research and Development Command and as Adjunct Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Alabama Medical Center.
- Processing information:
-
The biography was written by Sacramento State Public History graduate student Andrew Young. Michelle Trujillo updated this finding aid in 2026.
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Prepared:
- July 14, 2025, 2:55 p.m.
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using Record Express for OAC5 on July 14, 2025, 2:55 p.m.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
All applicable copyrights for the collection are protected under chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code. Requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California as the owner of the physical items. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Leon H. Schmidt Collection, D-209, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.
- Location of this collection:
-
University of California, Davis, Special Collections, UC Davis Library100 NW QuadDavis, CA 95616-5292, US
- Contact:
- (530) 752-1621