Francis Harper (biologist)

Francis Harper (17 November 1886 – 17 November

1972) was an American naturalist known for the study Francis Harper
of the 18th-century American naturalists John and Born November 17, 1886
William Bartram.[1] His research included studies of Southbridge,
the Okefenokee Swamp and fieldwork in the north Massachusetts
eastern United States and in northern Canada, and Died November 17, 1972
authored new combinations for two species originally (Aged 86)
described by William Bartram, Garberia Chapel Hill, North
[2] and [3][4]
heterophylla Roystonea elata. Carolina
Citizenship United States
Alma mater Cornell University
Biography
Scientific career
Harper received an A.B. in 1914 and a Ph.D. in 1925[5] Author abbrev. F. Harper
from Cornell University. He taught briefly at (botany)
Swarthmore College, but beyond that he worked for Notes
museums, government agencies and research
The botanist Roland McMillan Harper is
agencies.[6]
Francis' brother.

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[7] of the Okefenokee Swamp, including recordings of
the local music. He also published on the "extinct and vanishing" mammals of the old world.[6] 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.[a]
Swarthmore, Pa, 1936? OCLC 898176374 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/898176374),
ISSN 0004-8038 (https://www.worldcat.org/search?fq=x0:jrnl&q=n2:0004-8038)
"The Bartram trail through the southeastern states",[b] Chicago, 1939. OCLC 6248679 (http
s://www.worldcat.org/oclc/6248679)
"Some works of Bartram, Daudin, Latreille, and Sonnini, and their bearing upon North
American herpetological nomenclature",[c] Notre Dame: Indiana University Press,
1940.OCLC 6588855 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/6588855)
"William Bartram's names of birds",[d] Rochester: , 1942? OCLC 977478068 (https://www.wo
rldcat.org/oclc/977478068)
"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.[e] OCLC 84528141
(https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/84528141)
"Diary of a Journey through the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida, from July 1, 1765 to April
10, 1766" edited by F. Harper.[14]
"Travels in Georgia and Florida, 1773-74. A Report to Dr. John Fothergill" edited by Francis
Harper.[15]
The Travels of William Bartram: Naturalist’s Edition, edited by Francis Harper, University of
Georgia Press: (30 September 1998), ISBN 0-8203-2027-7.[16][17][18][19][20][21][f]

Bibliography
n.s. (December 1942). Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, part 1. Vol. 33.
pp. 1–122.
Manville, Richard H (1959). "Book Review: John and William Bartram's America by Helen
Gere Cruickshank; by Francis Harper". Journal of Mammalogy. 40 (2): 259–260.
doi:10.2307/1376463 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F1376463). ISSN 0022-2372 (https://searc
h.worldcat.org/issn/0022-2372). JSTOR 1376463 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/1376463).
OCLC 5550260962 (https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/5550260962).

Footnotes

Notes
a. Reprinted from "The Auk," vol. LIII, October 1936.
b. Reprinted from the "Bulletin of the Garden Club of America", September, 1939.
c. Reprinted from the American Midland Naturalist, v. 23, no. 3, May, 1940.
 d. Reprinted from the "Proceedings of the Rochester Academy of Science" 8: pp.208–221,
September 10, 1942.
e. Bound in one volume with extra title page. See also the bibliographical note in Brothers of
the spade: Correspondence of Peter Collinson, of London, and of John Curtis, of
Williamsberg, Virginia, 1734–1746 by Swem, E.G., in "Proceedings of American Antiquarian
Society", volume 58, part 1. (Apr. 1948)[13] on this work.
f. Originally published by Yale University Press: in 1958.

References
1. Norment, Christopher J. (March 2000). "Francis Harper (1886–1972)" (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20110524150940/http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic53-1-72.pdf) (PDF). Arctic.
53 (1): 72–75. doi:10.14430/arctic837 (https://doi.org/10.14430%2Farctic837). Archived
from the original (http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic53-1-72.pdf) (PDF) on 24 May
2011. Retrieved 6 Jan 2009.
2. Bartonia; a Botanical Annual. Proceedings of the Philadelphia Botanical Club (http://www.ipn
i.org/ipni/idPlantNameSearch.do?id=107399-2&back_page=/ipni/editSimplePlantNameSear
ch.do?find_wholeName=Garberia+heterophylla&output_format=normal). Vol. 23.
3. "Harper, Francis (1886-1972) : IPNI Author Details" (http://www.ipni.org/ipni/idAuthorSearch.
do?id=3671-1&back_page=/ipni/editAdvAuthorSearch.do?find_abbreviation=&find_surname
=Harper&find_isoCountry=&find_forename=&output_format=normal&show_history=true).
www.ipni.org. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
4. "Search result as "Author standard form = W.Bartram (including publishing authors,
including basionym authors) and Ranks" (http://www.ipni.org/ipni/idAuthorSearch.do?id=520
-1&back_page=%2Fipni%2FeditAdvAuthorSearch.do%3Ffind_abbreviation%3D%26find_su
rname%3DBartram%26find_isoCountry%3D%26find_forename%3DWilliam%2B%26output
_format%3Dnormal&show_history=true). International Plant Names Index. Retrieved
June 25, 2019.
5. Harper, Francis (June 1925). "A faunal reconnaissance in the Athabaska and Great Slave
Lakes region" (https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924001110307) (eBook). Thesis
(Ph.D.). Ithaca, N.Y: Cornell University. OCLC 691700648 (https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/6
91700648).
6. "Guide to the Francis Harper Collection: Francis Harper papers, 1899-1973" (http://ead.digli
b.ku.edu/xml/ksrl.sc.harperfrancis.html). Kenneth Spencer Memorial Library, Kenneth
Spencer Research Library. Retrieved 2009-01-06.
7. Palmer, Ralph S. (1973). "Francis Harper". The Auk. 90 (3). American Ornithologists' Union:
737–738. JSTOR 4084200 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/4084200).
8. "Francis Harper papers" (http://etext.ku.edu/view?docId=ksrlead/ksrl.sc.harperfrancis.xml).
etext.ku.edu. Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas. Retrieved
2019-06-25.
9. Harper, Francis (1945). "Proposals for Publishing Bartram's Travels" (https://books.google.c
om/books?id=R8KGswEACAAJ&q=Francis+Harper). Transactions of the American
Philosophical Society. American Philosophical Society.
10. Harper, Francis (1990-09-01). Okefinokee Album (https://books.google.com/books?id=FnR2
IIuCGcoC&q=Francis+Harper&pg=PR10). University of Georgia Press. pp. i–xiii, 5–7, 18.
ISBN 9780820312743.
11. Bartram, William (1998). The travels of William Bartram. Harper, Francis, 1886-1972.
(Naturalist's ed.). Athens, Georgia.: University of Georgia Press. ISBN 0820320277.
OCLC 38147862 (https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/38147862).
12. Palmer, Ralph S. (1973). "Francis Harper, 1886-1972" (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F137899
3). Journal of Mammalogy. 54 (3). American Society of Mammalogists: 800–01.
doi:10.2307/1378993 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F1378993). JSTOR 1378993 (https://www.j
stor.org/stable/1378993).
13. Swem, E. G (1949). Brothers of the spade: correspondence of Peter Collinson, of London,
and of John Custis, of Williamsburg, Virginia, 1734-1746. Worcester, Massachusetts:
American Antiquarian Society. OCLC 950896824 (https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/95089682
4). Reprinted from the "Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society"--verso of title
page shows "Copyright 1949 American Antiquarian Society Worcester, Massachusetts".
14. APS 1942, pp. 1–122.
15. APS 1942, pp. 121–242.
16. Briggs, Loutrel Winslow (1959). "Reviewed work: The Travels of William Bartram,
Naturalist's Edition, Francis Harper". The South Carolina Historical Magazine. 60 (4): 234–
237. JSTOR 27566259 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/27566259).
17. Dupree, A. Hunter (1959). "Book Review: The Travels of William Bartram: Naturalist's
Edition". The Mississippi Valley Historical Review. 45 (4): 660–661. doi:10.2307/1888721 (ht
tps://doi.org/10.2307%2F1888721). ISSN 0161-391X (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0161-
391X). JSTOR 1888721 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/1888721). OCLC 5545187777 (https://
search.worldcat.org/oclc/5545187777).
18. Earnest, Ernest (1959). "Book Review: The Travels of William Bartram". American Quarterly.
11 (1): 86. doi:10.2307/2710734 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2710734). ISSN 0003-0678 (htt
ps://search.worldcat.org/issn/0003-0678). JSTOR 2710734 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/271
0734). OCLC 5545670975 (https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/5545670975).
19. Geiser, S. W (1959). "Book Review: The Travels of William Bartram: Naturalist's Edition".
The Journal of Southern History. 25 (2): 240–242. doi:10.2307/2954623 (https://doi.org/10.2
307%2F2954623). ISSN 0022-4642 (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0022-4642).
JSTOR 2954623 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/2954623). OCLC 5545583407 (https://search.
worldcat.org/oclc/5545583407).
20. Newman, James R (1959). "Book Review: The Travels of William Bartram". Scientific
American. 200 (1): 158. ISSN 0036-8733 (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0036-8733).
OCLC 7792903265 (https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/7792903265).
21. Sturtevant, William C (1959). "Book Review: The Travels of William Bartram". American
Anthropologist. 61 (3): 548. doi:10.1525/aa.1959.61.3.02a00470 (https://doi.org/10.1525%2
Faa.1959.61.3.02a00470). ISSN 0002-7294 (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0002-7294).
OCLC 5549172805 (https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/5549172805).
22. International Plant Names Index. F.Harper (http://www.ipni.org/ipni/advAuthorSearch.do?fin
d_abbreviation=F.Harper).

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. ISBN 0226038149, 9780226038148,
OCLC 685176552 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/685176552)
"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. OCLC 6424517 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/6424
517)
"John and William Bartram's America" by Cruickshank, Helen Gere, Nueva York : The
American Museum of Natural History, 1957. OCLC 981340018 (https://www.worldcat.org/ocl
c/981340018)
 Chapter 5: Okefenokee Swampers in "Trembling Earth: A Cultural History of the Okefenokee
Swamp", Nelson, Megan Kate, University of Georgia Press, 2005. ISBN 0820326771,
9780820326771
"On Harper's Trail: Roland McMillan Harper, Pioneering Botanist of the Southern Coastal
Plain (https://books.google.com/books?id=HSvhAAAAMAAJ&q=Francis%20Harper)",
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
Works by Francis Harper (https://www.gutenberg.org/author/Harper,+Francis) at Project
Gutenberg
Works by or about Francis Harper (https://archive.org/search.php?query=%28%28subject%
3A%22Harper%2C%20Francis%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22Francis%20Harper%22%2
0OR%20creator%3A%22Harper%2C%20Francis%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Francis%
20Harper%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Harper%2C%20F%2E%22%20OR%20title%3
A%22Francis%20Harper%22%20OR%20description%3A%22Harper%2C%20Francis%2
2%20OR%20description%3A%22Francis%20Harper%22%29%20OR%20%28%221886-19
72%22%20AND%20Harper%29%29%20AND%20%28-mediatype:software%29) at the
Internet Archive
Francis Harper Papers (http://etext.ku.edu/view?docId=ksrlead/ksrl.sc.harperfrancis.xml) at
the Kenneth Spencer Research Library (http://spencer.lib.ku.edu/), University of Kansas

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