Basil M. Bensin papers, 1913-1970

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Summary

Creators:
Bensin, Basil M.
Abstract:
Speeches and writings, biographical data, and photographs, relating to agriculture, especially in northern climates, and to Russian émigré affairs.
Extent:
1 microfilm reel (0.15 Linear Feet)
Language:
In English and Russian
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Basil M. Bensin Papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

Basil M. Benzin (Vasilii Mitrofanovich Benzin) was an agricultural expert active in Russia (to 1920), Czechoslovakia (1921-1930) and the United States (1910-1912 and 1930 to his death). The collection includes his written works on varioua aspects of agronomy and its economic organization, as well as a file of unique materials on the history of Russian Sokol organizations in Europe and the United States (SUBJECT FILE/Athletic clubs). Also interesting are the files on his son's (Igor Bensen) career as an engineer for General Electric and inventor of flying contraptions (BIOGRAPHICAL FILE/Family file/Bensen, Igor, and PHOTOGRAPHS/Bensen, Igor).

Detailed processing and preservation microfilming for these materials were made possible by a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and by matching funds from the Hoover Institution and Museum of Russian Culture. The grant also provides depositing a microfilm copy in the Hoover Institution Library & Archives. The original materials remain in the Museum of Russian Culture, San Francisco as its property. A transfer table indicating corresponding box and reel numbers is available at the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

The Hoover Institution assumes all responsibility for notifying users that they must comply with the copyright law of the United States (Title 17 United States Code) and Hoover Rules for the Use and Reproduction of Archival Materials.

Biographical / historical:
Date Event
1881 January 30 (O.S.)
Born, Russia
1912
Returned to Russia
M. S., Agricultural Sciences, University of Minnesota
1913
Author, Izuchenie zasukhoustoichivykh ras sel'sko-khoziaistvennykh rastenii
1923
Author, Sel'skoe khoziaistvo i kooperatsiia v S.-Amerikie
1924
Author, Shkola i sel'skoe khoziaistvo
1930
Arrived in the United States
1945-1948
Instructor, University of Alaska
Agronomist, Alaska Agricultural Experiment Station

B. M. Bensin was born in Russia on 30 January 1881 (O. S.). He received his education in agricultural sciences at the University of Minnesota, graduating with an M.S. in 1912. Returning to Russia, he authored a pamphlet entitled Izuchenie zasukhoustoichivykh ras sel'sko-khoziaistvennykh rastenii in 1913. After 1920, he emigrated to Czechosovakia, where he published Sel'skoe khoziaistvo i kooperatsiia v S.-Amerikie (Prague, 1923) and Shkola i sel'skoe khoziaistvo (Prague, 1924).

Coming to the United States in 1930, he continued his agricultural researches: as an agronomist for the Alaska Agricultural Experiment Station and instructor at the University of Alaska from 1945 to 1948, he identified strains of plants capable of withstanding the extreme cold and harsh climate of the region. Bensin was also active in the Russian émigré Sokol movement, and his collection contains some materials on that topic. He died in North Carolina in February 1973.

Acquisition information:
Acquired.
Physical location:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Russians -- United States
Agriculture

Access and use

Restrictions:

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.

Terms of access:

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Basil M. Bensin Papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US
Contact:
(650) 723-3563
hooverarchives@stanford.edu
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