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COLLECTION Identifier: HUGFP 75.xx

Papers of Philip Jackson Darlington, Jr.

Overview

Philip Jackson Darlington, Jr. (1904-1983), entomologist, zoology professor, and museum curator, worked at Harvard University from 1932 until his retirement in 1971. He was the Museum of Comparative Zoology’s Assistant Curator of Insects from 1932 to 1940, the Henry Clinton Fall Curator of Coleoptera from 1940 to 1952, and Curator of Insects from 1951 until his retirement in 1971. From 1962 to 1971, he was also Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology. Darlington's papers document his professional career and contain correspondence, memoranda, reports, reviews of Darlington's books, manuscripts, and financial and royalty statements.

Dates

  • Creation: circa 1924-1985

Creator

Researcher Access

The Papers of Philip Jackson Darlington, Jr. are open for research with the following exceptions: Harvard University records are restricted for 50 years. Personnel and student records are closed for 80 years. Restrictions are noted at the series and folder level. Requires further review by the archivist; please see reference staff for details.

Extent

8.3 cubic feet (23 document boxes, 1 half-document box)

The Papers of Philip Jackson Darlington, Jr. contain correspondence, memoranda, reports, and other papers relating to his professional career as a Harvard professor, entomologist, and museum curator. The bulk of the material relates to his duties as Curator of Insects and Fall Curator of Coleoptera in Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology. His correspondence discusses various entomological, zoogeographica1, and biological problems, and also includes some letters of his wife, Elizabeth Darlington (1913-2004).

Darlington’s specialization in Carabidae is well represented, and he corresponds with other specialists in the field. Also included are reports and other materials relating to various field work collecting trips to the Panama Canal Zone, Australia, Chile, Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. The collection contains reviews of Darlington's books, manuscripts, and financial and royalty statements. There is some correspondence with publishers concerning his books, Zoogeography: The Geographic Distribution of Animals and Biogeography of the Southern End of the World. There are documents dating from 1928 to 1929 that relate to Darlington's employment as entomologist of the United Fruit Company in Columbia, and from his entomological experiences in New Guinea and the Philippines during his tour of duty with the United States Army during World War II.

Biographical note on Philip Jackson Darlington, Jr.

Philip Jackson Darlington, Jr. (1904-1983), entomologist, zoology professor, and museum curator, worked at Harvard University from 1932 until his retirement in 1971. He received his Harvard AB in 1926 and his MS the following year. From 1928 to 1929, he worked as an entomologist for the United Fruit Company in Colombia, then returned to Harvard, earning his PhD in 1931. He was a member of the 1931 to 1932 Harvard Australian Expedition, led by Harvard professor William Morton Wheeler on behalf of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, to collect mammal and insect specimens. Upon his return to the United States, Darlington was appointed the Museum of Comparative Zoology’s Assistant Curator of Insects, a position he maintained from 1932 to 1940; from 1940 to 1952, he served as the Henry Clinton Fall Curator of Coleoptera, and from 1951 until his retirement in 1971, was the Curator of Insects. From 1962 to 1971, Darlington was also Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology.

During World War II, Darlington served as a first lieutenant in the Malaria Survey of the Army Sanitary Corps in the Bismarcks, New Guinea and the Philippines. On a field survey for malaria in New Guinea, Darlington had his arm seriously injured in a crocodile attack while collection specimens on the summit of Mount Wilhelm, the highest peak in the Bismarck Range. Throughout his career, he conducted many field work expeditions, often accompanied by his wife, Elizabeth Koch Darlington (1913-2004), traveling to places such as Haiti, Australia, and Tierra del Fuego. He published over 120 papers and three books, was awarded two Guggenheim fellowships in 1947 and 1957, and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences in 1964. He died in 1983.

Biographical note on Elizabeth Koch Darlington

Elizabeth “Libby” Koch Darlington (1913-2004) married Philip Jackson Darlington in 1942; the couple had one son, Philip Frederick Darlington. Darlington accompanied her husband on many of his field expeditions, including an eighteen-month expedition from 1956 to 1957 camping in the Australian Outback.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in three series:

  1. Correspondence and other papers, circa 1924-1983 (HUGFP 75.10)
  2. Correspondence and other papers, 1942-1985 (HUGFP 75.12)
  3. Miscellaneous papers, 1930-1984 (HUGFP 75.45)

Acquisition

Specific acquisition information, when available, is noted at the series level:

  1. Transferred from the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, May 18, 1988; Accession 11402
  2. Gift of Philip J. Darlington, February 19, 1989; Accession 11337

Related Materials

In the Harvard University Archives:

  1. A collection of papers by Philip Jackson Darlington, Jr., mainly cuttings and reprints from various publications, 1935-1981 (HUH 316.5)
  2. Letters from Philip Jackson Darlington, Jr. to Katherine Driggs, [circa 1930s] (HUM 396)
In the Ernst Mayr Library Special Collection Archives:
  1. Philip J. Darlington papers, 1931-1991 (ARC 313)
  2. Remarks for the memorial service of P. Darlington / 1983 (bMu 752.80.1)

Inventory update

This document last updated 2022 May 19.

Processing Information

This finding aid was created by Olivia Mandica-Hart in February 2021. Information in this finding aid was assembled from legacy paper inventories and container management data. The collection was not re-examined by the archivist.

Title
Darlington, Philip Jackson, 1904-1983. Papers of Philip Jackson Darlington, Jr., circa 1924-1985 : an inventory
Status
completed
Author
Harvard University Archives
Date
February 8, 2020
Description rules
dacs
Language of description
und
EAD ID
hua10021

Repository Details

Part of the Harvard University Archives Repository

Holding nearly four centuries of materials, the Harvard University Archives is the principal repository for the institutional records of Harvard University and the personal archives of Harvard faculty, as well as collections related to students, alumni, Harvard-affiliates and other associated topics. The collections document the intellectual, cultural, administrative and social life of Harvard and the influence of the University as it emerged across the globe.

Contact:
Pusey Library
Harvard Yard
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
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