Kenneth V. Thimann papers, 1839, 1921-1997, bulk 1940-1990

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Summary

Creators:
Thimann, Kenneth Vivian, 1904-1997
Extent:
78.4 Linear Feet 162 boxes (141 doc boxes/half cartons, 17 flats/photo boxes, 2 roll boxes, 2 cartons)
Language:
The majority of the collection is in English, but some materials are written in German, French, and Czech.
Preferred citation:

Kenneth V. Thimann Papers, MS 71, Special Collections and Archives, University Library, University of California, Santa Cruz.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection documents the career of Kenneth V. Thimann, particularly his extensive publishing activity and professional involvement in the scientific community. The largest portion of the collection comprises alphabetical subject files that reflect his activity within national and international scientific organizations during the 1950s-1970s, such as the National Academy of Sciences. Materials in the collection also document Thimann's editorial work for a number of journals, his laboratory research at the California Institute of Technology, Harvard University, and the University of California Santa Cruz, as well as his role as provost of Crown College at UCSC. A small amount of personal and biographical material is also included.

Biographical / historical:

Kenneth V. Thimann was an English-born American plant physiologist who is best known for his isolation of the plant growth hormone auxin. His identification of this hormone allowed for the production of several herbicides that were of critical importance to agricultural and horticultural industries. Thimann wrote or coauthored over 300 articles and several books, including Phytohormones (1937); The Life of Bacteria (1955); Hormone Action in the Whole Life of Plants (1977); and Botany: Plant Biology and Its Relation to Human Affairs (1982).

Thimann was born in Ashford, England, on August 5, 1904 to Muriel Kate Harding and Israel Phoebus Thimann. He earned his B.Sc. in Chemistry in 1924 and Ph.D. in Biochemistry in 1928, both from Imperial College, University of London. He married Ann Mary Bateman in 1929, with whom he had three children. He became an American citizen in 1941.

Thimann taught at the University of London for several years before coming to the California Institute of Technology in 1930, where he was an instructor in bacteriology and biochemistry. In 1935, Thimann joined the faculty of Harvard University, where he remained for 30 years. He served as the director of Harvard's Biological Laboratories from 1946-1950, and was the Higgins Professor of Biology from 1962-1965. In 1962, he became the first master of East House at Radcliffe College. In 1965, Thimann moved to California, and became professor of biology and the first provost of Crown College at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He retired as provost in 1972, and moved to Haverford, Pennsylvania in 1989.

Thimann was a technical consultant to the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development from 1942-1945. During this time, he also worked with the Operational Research Group of the U.S. Navy in Washington, D.C., London, and Pearl Harbor.

Thimann served on numerous international scientific societies, associations, and editorial boards throughout his career. He was President of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (1965), the Botanical Society of America (1960), the American Society of Plant Physiologists (1950), the Society for the Study of Development and Growth (1955), the Society of General Physiologists (1949-1950), the American Society of Naturalists (1955), and the XIth International Botanical Congress (1969). He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1938, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 1948, the American Philosophical Society in 1959, as well as several international academies. He was awarded the Balzan Prize in 1982. He died in 1997 in Haverford, Pennsylvania.

For more biographical information see the oral history, Kenneth V. Thimann: Early UCSC History and the Founding of Crown College, available in UCSC Library Search and eScholarship.

Acquisition information:
Gift of the Thimann family in 1997.
Processing information:

Unless otherwise noted, materials are arranged in original order. Most folder titles are copied from the original folder label.

Physical location:
Collection stored off-site at NRLF: Advance notice is required for access.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection open for research. Audiovisual media is unavailable until reformatted. Contact Special Collections and Archives in advance to request access to audiovisual media.

Terms of access:

Property rights for this collection reside with the University of California. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. The publication or use of any work protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use for research or educational purposes requires written permission from the copyright owner. Responsibility for obtaining permissions, and for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Preferred citation:

Kenneth V. Thimann Papers, MS 71, Special Collections and Archives, University Library, University of California, Santa Cruz.

Location of this collection:
Special Collections and Archives, University Library
1156 High Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95064, US
Contact:
(831) 459-2547
speccoll@library.ucsc.edu
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