特征标识细目
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标题
日期
- 1885-1888 (创建)
尺寸
0.21 linear feet (1 half-document case)
创建者名称
传纪历史
J. M. (John Merton) Aldrich was born on January 28, 1866, in Olmstead County, Minnesota, to Levi O. and Mary Moore Aldrich. He was educated in the county and high schools of Rochester, Minnesota. In 1885, he enrolled at Dakota Agricultural College in Brookings, South Dakota, and became the first student to specialize in zoological sciences. He graduated in 1888, receiving his B.S. degree during the institution’s first formal commencement ceremony.
Following his graduation, Aldrich remained at Dakota Agricultural College as an Assistant in Entomology (1889–1890), then as an Assistant in Zoology (1890–1892), and also assisted the Agricultural Experiment Station Entomologist during this period. He pursued further academic credentials, earning additional B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Kansas, and later, in 1906, a Ph.D. from Stanford University. His doctoral dissertation was his influential Catalog of North American Diptera, which he began while serving as Professor of Zoology at the University of Idaho (1893–1913).
After leaving the University of Idaho in 1913, Aldrich joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture Bureau of Entomology in West Lafayette, Indiana as an Entomological Assistant. In 1918, he was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., where he served as Custodian of Diptera and Associate Curator in the Division of Insects. He was the first Dipterist hired at the Smithsonian who had previously served in the USDA.
Aldrich was internationally recognized for his ability to collect rare insect specimens across the western United States, Alaska, and Guatemala. Many of his finds were previously unknown to science. His expertise in North American Diptera positioned the National Museum as a leading research center for New World Diptera. In 1923, he donated his personal collection of over 45,000 insect specimens, representing more than 4,000 taxa, along with a detailed card catalog of North American Diptera literature. This resource became one of the most valuable general Diptera collections in the museum.
He published extensively on entomological subjects and served as President of the Entomological Society of America in 1921. He received numerous accolades during his lifetime. Aldrich passed away in 1934. His legacy endures, notably through the Aldrich Entomology Club, founded in 1961 at the University of Idaho, which continues to promote engagement in insect biology among students, faculty, and the public.
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The J.M. Aldrich Diaries consist of three volumes documenting Aldrich’s student years at Dakota Agricultural College from 1885 to 1888. The diaries provide a detailed daily account of his experiences during the formative years of the college. Each volume represents one academic year: Volume 1 (1885–1886), Volume 2 (1886–1887), and Volume 3 (1887–1888). Between 1930 and 1932, Aldrich transcribed the original diaries into typewritten copies and added parenthetical annotations for clarification.
Entries are organized by day and date, offering insight into Aldrich’s routine activities, travels between Minnesota and Brookings, and observations of campus life. Although many entries describe ordinary events, they collectively convey a rich portrayal of student life and the broader Dakota Territory environment during the 1880s. Notable topics include transportation challenges, early college operations, and administrative changes, such as the replacement of President George Lilley with Lewis McLouth.
These diaries are a primary source reflecting the student perspective during the early years of Dakota Agricultural College. They document both the mundane and institutional aspects of academic life in the upper Midwest frontier and serve as a foundational narrative for understanding student culture and college development in the Dakota Territory.
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Digital copies are available for viewing on the Digital Library of South Dakota
The John Merton Aldrich Papers are held at the Smithsonian Institution Archives. This collection consists of correspondence between Aldrich and other dipterists and includes considerable correspondence with Leland Ossian Howard and Charles Henry Tyler Townsend.
Bibliography
A catalogue of North American Diptera (or two-winged flies) by J.M. Aldrich
Call Number: SI 1.7:46/1
Publication Date: 1905
The Cut-worm by I.M. Orcutt and J.M. Aldrich
Call Number: 630.7 So87.12 no.18
Publication Date: 1890
Injurious insects by I.M. Orcutt and J.M. Aldrich
Call Number: 630.7 So87.12 no.22
Publication Date: 1889-1891
Report of the Department of Entomology by I.M. Orcutt and J.M. Aldrich
Call Number: 630.7 So87.12 no.30
Publication Date: 1892
Sarcophaga and allies in North America by J.M. Aldrich
Call Number: AL535.1 A4s
Publication Date: 1916
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In Copyright This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses, you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Materials in this collection may be subject to Title 17, Section 108 of the United States Copyright Act. Users are responsible for ensuring compliance with copyright, privacy, trademark, and other applicable rights for their intended use. Obtaining all necessary permissions is the user's responsibility. Written authorization from the copyright and/or other rights holders is required for publication, distribution, or any use of protected materials beyond what is permitted under fair use.