Joseph Leidy Correspondence

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: ANSP-Coll-0001

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Joseph Leidy Correspondence Collection contains letters from scholars, scientists and acquaintances to Joseph Leidy with a few letters from Leidy to various correspondents. Many of the correspondents were associated with the natural sciences, medicine and acadamia. The letters discuss travel, field work, research, theories, finances, and personal lives and reflect his wide interest in all phases of natural history, protozoology, embryology, parasitology, paleontology, anthropology, mineralogy and botany. According to the "Guide to the Manuscript Collections in the Academy of Natural Sciences" (1962) this collection of correspondence consists of 2700 items written by approximately 800 scientists including a small collection of letters written by Leidy. Noted or extensive correspondents include Ferdinand V. Hayden, S.F. Baid, Charles Darwin, and Flinders Petrie.

The letters are organized alphabetically according the last name of the writer. Letters by the same author are organized chronologically.

Dates

1845-1913, undated

Creator

Leidy, Joseph, 1823-1891 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright restrictions may apply. Please contact the Archives with requests for copying and for authorization to publish, quote or reproduce the material.

Biographical / Historical

Joseph Mellick Leidy (born on September 9, 1823 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Philip, a hatter, and Catherine), one of the great American scientists of the 19th century, possessed a vast knowledge of the natural world. Best known as the Father of American vertebrate paleontology, he also pioneered the fields of parasitology and protozoology, and was the preeminent anatomist of his time. He was also an influential teacher of natural history and an expert in areas as diverse as entomology, geology and pathology.

Leidy was a passionate advocate of employing the microscope in scientific research. He was first introduced to the tool by his medical school mentor, Dr. Paul Goddard and he emphasized its usefulness to his own students. In his research Leidy used the microscope to examine a wide range of subjects, including fossils, gems, parasites, forensic medicine and human tissues. Notable among his microscopic studies are his 1848 study on the microstructure of the liver, his 1853 parasitology monograph ("Flora and Fauna within Living Animals"), his 1879 protozoology monograph ("Fresh-Water Rhizopods of North America") and his study of endosymbionts in termites ("The Parasites of the Termites").

Joseph Leidy's contribution to American parasitology is perhaps second only to his contribution to vertebrate paleontology. Although several European scientists were active during the 19th century, Leidy was essentially the only American researcher in the field. His work was highly regarded in Europe, but it wasn't until the early part of the 20th century that it was broadly appreciated by his American peers.

Leidy's parasitological studies were concentrated into two separate periods. The first period (1846-1858) began early in Leidy's scientific career, while the second (1874-1891) occupied the latter part. In between, Leidy's efforts were concentrated on Vertebrate Paleontology. Early studies included many short articles and notices covering parasites from a wide variety of animals, such as dogs and pigs. In 1874, after nearly 16 years during which his efforts were devoted to paleontology, Leidy resumed his studies in parasitology, and published longer articles on the tapeworms in birds, parasites of shad and herring, leeches and the symbionts of termites. Curious about the diet of a common termite, Joseph Leidy collected some of them and examined the brownish material from their gut under the microscope. He wrote of his astonishment of finding it full to be made up predominately of parasites.

Leidy published his findings, "The Parasites of the Termites", as a scholarly paper in the Journal of The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 1881. The only other references to termite parasites Leidy could find were some short passages in a monograph on termites by the French scientist Lespes in 1856. Leidy's report was the first detailed examination and description of termite endosymbionts. He recorded a total of eight species, several of which were new to science.

"Fresh-Water Rhizopods of North America" was Joseph Leidy's last monograph (he continued to write shorter publications, primarily on parasites.) It contained 324 pages and 48 lithographic plates. Leidy limited his monograph to free-living, non-parasitic freshwater forms. Most of his rhizopods were collected from marshes, ponds and streams near Philadelphia, but others were collected from elsewhere in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as from Connecticut, Rhode Island, the Bridger Basin (southwestern Wyoming) and in the vicinity of the Bay of Fundy in Canada.

Leidy expressed considerable frustration with the illustrations that graced his book. He made the original drawings (later copied to make the lithographic plates), but regarded them as inadequate for representing the minature marvels he saw in the microscope. He was captivated by their complex movements, variable colors and ever-changing shapes.

Although Leidy was unsatisfied, the illustrations were cherished by others. Some of the drawings were preserved in bound volumes by Leidy's colleague and friend Joseph Willcox. Herbert S. Jennings, a leading American zoologist of the early 20th century, regarded Leidy as a scientific artist. He also regarded "Fresh-water Rhizopods of North America" as a "masterpiece" and " a section of nature permanently presented to us."

In 1864 Leidy married Anna Harden. They had one child by adoption, a daughter named Alwinia. Leidy died in 1891.

Extent

2.75 linear feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Overview

Joseph Mellick Leidy (1823-1891), one of the great American scientists of the 19th century, possessed a vast knowledge of the natural world. Best known as the Father of American vertebrate paleontology, he also pioneered the fields of parasitology and protozoology, and was the preeminent anatomist of his time. He was also an influential teacher of natural history and an expert in areas as diverse as entomology, geology and pathology. The Joseph Leidy Correspondence collection contains letters from scholars, scientists and acquaintances to Joseph Leidy with a few letters from Leidy to various correspondents. Many of the correspondents were associated with the natural sciences, medicine and acadamia. The letters discuss travel, field work, research, theories, finances, and personal lives and reflect his wide interest in all phases of natural history, protozoology, embryology, parasitology, paleontology, anthropology, mineralogy and botany.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Joseph Leidy Correspondence Collection consists of four accessions which include MS.001, MS.132, MS.166 and MS. 758. MS.001 was assembled by Joseph Leidy II, whose son donated them to the Academy on March 14, 1944. MS. 166 and MS.758 were Found In Collection accessions.

Related Materials

Other collections containing materials related to Joseph Leidy including

Coll. 1A Joseph Leidy Correspondence and Documents (Photocopies); Coll. 1B Joseph Leidy's Photocopied Correspondence; Coll. 1C Typed transcripts of Joseph Leidy correspondences in the National Archives, College of Physicicans, and Academy of Natural Sciences; Coll. 1D Leonard Wenrich's Index for ANSP Coll. 001C, transcripts of Leidy letters; Coll. 2 Joseph Leidy "Miscellanea"; Coll. 3 Joseph Leidy Pictorial Material; Coll. 8 Joseph Leidy Personalia; Coll. 9 Joseph Liedy Likenesses; Coll. 12 Joseph Liedy Memorials and Commemorative Meeting; Coll. 16 Charles Sumner Dolley Papers about the Biography of Joseph Leidy; Coll. 166 Joseph Liedy II Papers on Joseph Leidy; Coll. 178 Joseph Liedy Writings; Coll. 479 Joseph Leidy Learned Society Honors; Coll. 480 Joseph Leidy Biographical Papers; Coll. 481 Joseph Leidy Biographical Scrapbooks; Coll. 482 Joseph Leidy Diaries and Field Notebooks; Coll. 532 Joseph Leidy Charts for teaching; 2009.012 Letter from Joseph Leidy; 2010.081 Medal Dies of Joseph Leidy Medal; 2011.063 Bernard Uhle Painting of Joseph Leidy; 2011.103 Framed Photo of Joseph Leidy;