Personal papers of Larry D. Martin
Overview
This collection contains correspondence, scholarly material, and other papers from Larry D. Martin, a vertebrate paleontologist at the Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. This collection represents his active career and scientific contributions.
Dates
- Creation: approximately 1972-2010
Creator
- Martin, Larry D. (Compiler, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
No access restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Spencer Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.
Biography of Larry D. Martin (1943-2013)
Larry D. Martin was a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Kansas (KU) and a curator in vertebrate paleontology at the Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum at KU from 1972 until his death in 2013. Born in Bartlett, Nebraska in 1943, Martin attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he earned his B.S. and master's degrees. He earned his PhD from the University of Kansas.
Martin's research expertise ranged from the evolution and behavior of fossil birds and dinosaurs to extinct marine life, the anatomy and history of saber-toothed cats and other extinct mammals, changing environments of North America during the last 30 million years, and other related topics.
Martin and his wife, Jean, invited many students and colleagues to stay with them at their home in Lawrence, Kansas while visiting, making presentations, or doing research at the University of Kansas. Larry and Jean Martin were the parents of two daughters, Amanda Martin Hamon, and Mary Martin Almsberger.
[Biography information was taken from the Lawrence Journal World obituary https://obituaries.ljworld.com/us/obituaries/ljworld/name/larry-martin-obituary?pid=164916258, 2013, and University of Kansas article "University Mourns Death of Professor Larry Martin," 2013, and from the collection.]
Extent
8 Linear Feet (16 boxes + 1 oversize box, 3 oversize folders)
Language of Materials
English
Scope and Contents
Martin was involved in researching many subjects and actively corresponded with fellow scientists. He participated in writing many scholarly papers, often with other colleagues. This collection contains Larry D. Martin's correspondence with scientific peers, researchers, colleagues, and others. It also includes scholarly work in the form of manuscripts, notes, illustrations, and photographic material. Subjects include, but are not limited to, the Natural Trap Cave excavation site and other field work, bird morphology and evolution, dinosaurs, saber-toothed cats and other extinct mammals, climate change, and Linear A language.
Arrangement
The collection arrived in three donations during 2016 and 2018 from the Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum at KU where Larry D. Martin had his office. During processing, the collection was kept in the order that it was received. No discernible arrangement was detected. In addition, several boxes contained unfoldered papers.
While some of the folders are titled and may have an added clarification of the folder contents, in most cases each folder contains a wide array of material that is not included in the description. For this reason, folder titles that appear to be related based on title have not been grouped during processing, and materials have been left in the order they were received.
Physical Location
PP 630
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Transfer, Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum, 2016, 2018.
Separated Materials
One folder of Robert W. Wilson correspondence, tributes to colleagues, notes, and scholarly papers was separated and added to the Personal papers of Robert W. Wilson, PP 596, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas, Box 5. Other materials transferred to the Natural Museum of History record group, RG 33.
Some serials and monographs were separated and individually cataloged.
Processing Information
Some collection material arrived foldered and labeled. Occasionally, a folder was titled with a description that did not match the contents of the folder. In all cases, original titles were transferred to the new folder in quotations and a short description or clarification of contents was added after the original folder title [in brackets]. However, much of the material was received unfoldered and stacked in boxes with no discernable order. The stacks of material were foldered in their original order and folder titles were devised by Spencer staff.
Box number 17 not used in this collection.
Source
Subject
- Title
- Guide to Larry D. Martin Papers
- Subtitle
- Personal papers of Larry D. Martin
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by lmw, 2021. Finding aid encoded by lmw, 2021. Finding aid revised by mwh, 2023.
- Date
- 2021-08-27
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Finding aid written in English.
- Finding aid permalink
- https://hdl.handle.net/10407/7338242462
- Preferred citation
-
Personal papers of Larry D. Martin Collection, PP 630, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas
Repository Details
Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository