Francis Harper (biologist) explained

Francis Harper
Birth Date:	November 17, 1886
Birth Place:	Southbridge, Massachusetts
Death Date:	November 17, 1972 (Aged 86)
Death Place:	Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Citizenship:	United States
Alma Mater:	Cornell University
Author Abbrev Bot:	F. Harper
Footnotes:	The botanist Roland McMillan Harper is Francis' brother.

Francis Harper (17 November 1886 – 17 November 1972) was an American naturalist known for the study of the 18th-century American naturalists John and William Bartram.^[1] His research included studies of the Okefenokee Swamp and fieldwork in the north eastern United States and in northern Canada, and authored new combinations for two species originally described by William Bartram, Garberia heterophylla^[2] and Roystonea elata.^{[3] [4]}

Biography

Harper received an A.B. in 1914 and a Ph.D. in 1925^[5] from Cornell University. He taught briefly at Swarthmore College, but beyond that he worked for museums, government agencies and research agencies.^[6]

In 1914 Harper made his first trip to northern Canada on an expedition to Lake Athabasca^[7] working as a zoologist for the Geological Survey of Canada.^[1]

Between 1917 and 1919 Harper served as a rodent control officer in France^[1] with the United States Army's 79th Division.^[6] He returned to Athabasca in 1920,^[6] Nueltin Lake in the southern District of Keewatin (Keewatin / Kivalliq) in 1947 and the Ungava Peninsula in 1953, his last trip north.^[7] Harper published notable works on the caribou of Keewatin, the birds of the Ungava Peninsula, and the Innu (Montagnais) of the Ungava.^{[6] [8]}

Research

From 1917 through the 1950s Harper spent significant time researching the work of the early North American naturalists John Bartram and his son William Bartram. Harper traced the Bartrams' travels in the American South and helped revive both scientific and popular interest in the Bartrams' work,^[9] while keeping notebooks on his fieldworks as early as in 1912.^[10] Harper's research into the Bartrams was funded by grants from the John Bartram Association in Philadelphia, the American Philosophical Society, and the Guggenheim Foundation among others.

Extensive publications on both of the Bartrams included annotated editions of John Bartram's "Diary of a Journey through the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida 1765-1766"; William Bartram's "Report to Dr. John Fothergill 1773-1774" and an annotated The Travels of William Bartram: Naturalist’s Edition first published in Philadelphia in 1791.^[11]

Harper published on the mammals^[12] and folklore of the Okefenokee Swamp, including recordings of the local music. He also published on the "extinct and vanishing" mammals of the old world. His papers are held in the Kenneth Spencer Research Library at the University of Kansas.^[6]

Publications

Harper authored about 135 publications^[12] including:

• "The Vultur Sacra of William Bartram", written by William Bartram, edited by F. Harper. Swarthmore, Pa, 1936?,
• "The Bartram trail through the southeastern states", Chicago, 1939.
• "Some works of Bartram, Daudin, Latreille, and Sonnini, and their bearing upon North American herpetological nomenclature", Notre Dame: Indiana University Press, 1940.
• "William Bartram's names of birds", Rochester:, 1942?
• "John Bartram's Diary ; and William Bartram's Travels, edited by F. Harper, "Transactions of American Philosophy Society", n.s., 33 (1-2), Philadelphia: APS, 1944.
• "Diary of a Journey through the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida, from July 1, 1765 to April 10, 1766" edited by F. Harper.
• "Travels in Georgia and Florida, 1773-74. A Report to Dr. John Fothergill" edited by Francis Harper.
• The Travels of William Bartram: Naturalist’s Edition, edited by Francis Harper, University of Georgia Press: (30 September 1998), .^{[13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]}

Bibliography

• Book: Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, part 1. n.s.. December 1942. 33. 1–122. .
• Manville. Richard H. 1959. Book Review: John and William Bartram's America by Helen Gere Cruickshank; by Francis Harper . 10.2307/1376463. Journal of Mammalogy. en. 40 . 2. 259–260. 0022-2372 . 5550260962. 1376463.

Footnotes

References

Further reading

• The American Committee and the First Inventory of Extinction in "Nature's Ghosts: Confronting Extinction from the Age of Jefferson to the Age of Ecology", Barrow, Mark V., University of Chicago Press, 2009. pp. 159–163.,
• "Bartram Heritage: A Study of the Life of William Bartram : Including the Report to the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service, U.S. Department of the Interior", by Bartram Trail Conference ; Brad Sanders, 1979.
• "John and William Bartram's America" by Cruickshank, Helen Gere, Nueva York : The American Museum of Natural History, 1957.
• Chapter 5: Okefenokee Swampers in "Trembling Earth: A Cultural History of the Okefenokee Swamp", Nelson, Megan Kate, University of Georgia Press, 2005.
• "On Harper's Trail: Roland McMillan Harper, Pioneering Botanist of the Southern Coastal Plain", Shores, Elizabeth F., University of Georgia Press, 2008. On Francis' brother Roland, who sometimes accompanied Francis and often discussed with him as a botanist on natural history.

External links

• • • Francis Harper Papers at the Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas

Notes and References

1. Norment. Christopher J.. March 2000. Francis Harper (1886–1972). Arctic. 53. 1. 72–75. 6 Jan 2009. 10.14430/arctic837. 24 May 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110524150940/http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic53-1-72.pdf. dead.
2. Book: Bartonia; a Botanical Annual. Proceedings of the Philadelphia Botanical Club. 23.
3. Web site: Harper, Francis (1886-1972) : IPNI Author Details. www.ipni.org. 2019-06-25.
4. Web site: Search result as "Author standard form = W.Bartram (including publishing authors, including basionym authors) and Ranks. International Plant Names Index. June 25, 2019.
5. A faunal reconnaissance in the Athabaska and Great Slave Lakes region. Ithaca, N.Y. Cornell University. June 1925. 691700648. Harper. Francis . Thesis (Ph.D.). eBook. registration.
6. Web site: Guide to the Francis Harper Collection: Francis Harper papers, 1899-1973. Kenneth Spencer Memorial Library, Kenneth Spencer Research Library. 2009-01-06.
7. Palmer. Ralph S.. 1973. Francis Harper. The Auk. 90. 3. 737–738. 4084200. American Ornithologists' Union.
8. Web site: Francis Harper papers. etext.ku.edu. Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas. 2019-06-25.
9. Harper. Francis. 1945. Proposals for Publishing Bartram's Travels. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. American Philosophical Society.
10. Book: Harper, Francis. Okefinokee Album. 1990-09-01 . University of Georgia Press. 9780820312743. i - xiii, 5 - 7, 18. en.
11. Book: Bartram, William. The travels of William Bartram. 1998. University of Georgia Press. Harper, Francis, 1886-1972.. 0820320277. Naturalist's . Athens, Georgia.. 38147862.
12. Palmer. Ralph S.. 1973. Francis Harper, 1886-1972. Journal of Mammalogy. 54. 3. 800–01. 1378993 . 10.2307/1378993 . American Society of Mammalogists. free.
13. 27566259. Briggs. Loutrel Winslow. Reviewed work: The Travels of William Bartram, Naturalist's Edition, Francis Harper. The South Carolina Historical Magazine. 60. 4. 234–237. 1959.
14. 1959. Dupree. A. Hunter. Book Review: The Travels of William Bartram: Naturalist's Edition. The Mississippi Valley Historical Review. en. 45. 4. 660–661. 0161-391X. 5545187777. 10.2307/1888721. 1888721.
15. 1959. Earnest. Ernest. Book Review: The Travels of William Bartram.. American Quarterly. en. 11. 1. 86. 0003-0678. 5545670975. 10.2307/2710734. 2710734.
16. 1959. Geiser. S. W. Book Review: The Travels of William Bartram: Naturalist's Edition. The Journal of Southern History. en. 25. 2. 240–242. 0022-4642. 5545583407. 10.2307/2954623. 2954623.
17. 1959. Newman. James R. Book Review: The Travels of William Bartram. Scientific American. en. 200. 1. 158. 0036-8733. 7792903265.
18. 1959. Sturtevant. William C. Book Review: The Travels of William Bartram. American Anthropologist. en. 61. 3. 548. 0002-7294. 5549172805. 10.1525/aa.1959.61.3.02a00470.