For over 60 years the Biosystematists of the Bay Area has served as an intellectual focus and integrating influence among the evolutionary biologists of the region. Its membership included many influential contributors to the evolutionary synthesis, as well as a host of leading figures in evolutionary biology over the decades of its existence. The group's history is significant also in that it represents an experiment in the effectiveness of promoting scientific progress through interdisciplinary discourse among peers spiced with a dose of collegiality. This essay summarizes the organization's format, membership, and structure, reports on its founding and early history, documents its transition away from an all-male society, and records the officers that provided its leadership. Future research will assemble what can be learned about its programs, and hence reveal the extent and depth of its intellectual concerns.Sometimes, quite unpredictably, seemingly minor events result in unanticipated historical paths. This is an account of how a privately published book with a heretical message, The Atlantic Rift and its Meaning(Baker, 1932), helped trigger a 63-year experiment in interdisciplinary discourse among evolutionary biologists. For over 60 years the Biosystematists has been a San Francisco Bay Area institution unique in its format and an intellectual tour de forcein its influence both locally and nationally. It was founded in 1936 with the unusual attitude that interdisciplinary discourse combined with a dose of social collegiality could spawn scientific breakthroughs as well as personal intellectual growth. Although such an idea was not novel, it was definitely not the standard behavior of scientists at the time, at least in North America, and even now, while increasingly often expressed, it is more an idealized goal in science than a reality. This forward-looking cohort of scientists was comprised of evolutionary biologists associated with various academic institutions in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The
format for this new organization was to meet generally once a month
with a dinner followed by discussion. Meeting venues alternated among
the institutions involved, but the University of California at Berkeley
soon became the center of activity mainly because of its central
location. Attendance at meetings varied, but the modal number was about
30. Early membership in the Biosystematists included important
contributors to the evolutionary "new synthesis" (Smocovitis, 1997).
Among them were Jens Clausen, William Hiesey, David Keck, Alden Miller,
and Ledyard Stebbins. Richard Goldschmidt was also an early member
although his contribution to the evolutionary synthesis is still
debated (Dietrich, 1995, Mayr, 1997). Much later (early 1970's)
Theodosius Dobzhansky participated while he was retired and living in
Davis, California.
The group
prided itself on its informal and minimal administrative structure (no
dues were collected for at least the first 40 years), one consequence
of which was that records of its activities were not systematically
preserved. Over the decades, the Biosystematists naturally changed in
many ways, adjusting its format, enlarging its membership base (Table 1), experimenting with different
administrative structures, and broadening its concept of what
constituted evolutionary biology. Such changes were not always
accomplished without controversy, but change after all was a
comfortable intellectual concept for evolutionary biologists.
Nevertheless, throughout this long period, the group remained faithful
to its basic tenets of interdisciplinary discussion among peers,
informality, and collegiality. Consistent with this philosophy,
Biosystematists was a "membership by invitation" only organization.
While the criteria for membership evolved, there was a semi-formal
procedure for joining during most of these 60 years. At first, members
were required to have a Ph.D. degree or equivalent experience and to
have an established program of independent research in some aspect of
evolutionary biology. Effectively, this restricted membership to those
at Bay Area institutions of higher learning, including the California
Academy of Sciences. Gradually, the second requirement became relaxed,
but not the first. Another early requirement was that prospective
members be resident in the Bay Area for one year before becoming
eligible. This seems to have been largely ignored after just a few
years, but the notion that members should be long-term residents of the
area persisted through the 1980s. The rule was that nominees for
membership should be able to attend meetings for at least one year
after election. Shorter term residents, such as post-doctoral fellows,
would be welcome as guests. The last formal statement of membership
requirements was in a letter from D. R. Kaplan, Chair of the Council,
dated 9 October 1991. Criteria included: a professional position in the
area, record of research accomplishment, regular attendance on a
long-term basis, and ability to present a seminar to the group.
At each
meeting, there was a formality of welcoming any new members and
introducing guests. Nominations for membership were made in writing and
submitted to a membership committee that would review whether or not
the nominee fit the above cirteria. During some intervals, the
Executive Committee, if there were one, or the Secretary acted as the
membership committee (see below). In 1993/1994, the membership
committee concept was abolished. In about 1977, institutional budgets
having become extremely constrained, a $1 annual dues was initiated in
order to pay for postage. Dues remained at this rate up to the present
time, except that in about 1994 they were raised to $2 for a couple of
years to alleviate a deficit. In recent years, electronic mail has
reduced mailing costs, and dues collection has become sporadic.
Although
there was not an identifiable single defining moment, by 1998 the
organization had changed in ways that were more fundamental than it had
previously experienced. For some, this signaled the end of an era
identified by the above philosophy, and for others it meant
re-positioning the organization more appropriately for the next 60
years. Perhaps both are true. For many members, these recent
modernizations of the organization triggered an interest in the history
of the group and a concomitant reassessment of its accomplishments. For
instance, Michael T. Ghiselin of the California Academy of Sciences
arranged for an archive to be established at that institution. And, in
September 1998, I undertook the task of assembling as much historical
data as I could on the organization, a task made complicated and
frustrating by the informal and minimal administrative structure that
had characterized it. I began my present investigation by sending a
memorandum to all long-term members of the group soliciting their help.
Useful input was received over the subsequent months from the following
individuals; I am most grateful to them for their assistance: John A.
Chemsak, Lincoln Constance, Howell V. Daly, Barbara Ertter, Michael T.
Ghiselin, Joseph T. Gregory, Nancy Vivrette Haller, Tomio Iwamoto, Ned
K. Johnson, Harold W. Kerster, Elizabeth B. McClintock, Brent D.
Mishler, Robert Ornduff, Jerry A. Powell, Charles M. Rick , G. Ledyard
Stebbins, Barbara R. Stein, and Marvalee H. Wake. What follows are (1)
an account of the first decade of the organization's existence, (2) a
discussion of the controversy surrounding women members, and (3) a
compilation of the group's officers. Information on programs is
currently being assembled and will be presented later.
The most common type of programs were status reports by members on their on-going research, followed by extensive discussion. Sometimes the speaker was a visitor or post-doctoral fellow, and sometimes there were panel discussions. Generally the group scheduled a weekend field trip meeting once a year, and these excursions usually involved multiple speakers. Figure 1 (not available) shows a group of four members looking for salamanders following a successful weekend symposium at Bodega Marine Laboratory (13-14 Feb. 1970). In this case the topic was the raging controversy over molecular clocks, and we called the symposium "Phyletics without fossils." An excellent photograph (Fig. 2) of the group attending a weekend field trip in May 1946 has been previously published in Smocovitis (1997; fig. 5).
Recently,
I discovered a letter that seems to solve the mystery. On 28 September
1938, Herbert L. Mason wrote to Robert C. Miller, then Director of the
California Academy of Sciences, inviting him to attend the October
meeting of the group. He commented further that this meeting would mark
the beginning of the organization's third year. This means that the
first meeting was in fact held in October 1936, a date quite compatible
with other information. There was no disagreement among early members
that this first meeting occurred in October in the library of the
Carnegie Institution of Washington at Stanford University. David Keck
was the first speaker and his topic was a privately published book by
Howard Bigelow Baker (1932) on continental drift. The second meeting
was held in Berkeley (2093 Life Sciences Bldg.), and the third was at
Stanford's Dudley Herbarium in the former Natural History Museum.
No one
person clearly emerges as deserving credit for starting the group. Jens
Clausen is frequently mentioned as the initial coordinator, but David
Keck and William Hiesey each felt that they were initially and
critically involved in the first steps toward its organization. These
three formed such an integrated intellectual team that it is probably
impossible to know which individual was responsible for which ideas,
and over time each could legitimately claim ownership of any group
thoughts. Clausen was the senior member of the team, and so it is
understandable that he was viewed by others as the initial leader.
David Keck, however, gave the most plausible story when he addressed
the group at its 9 May 1978 panel discussion. He recalled that in
December 1934 the AAAS meetings were in Pittsburgh. Keck arrived just
after the meetings ended, his arrival delayed because of the birth of
his daughter on 26 December. He had discussions with a group from the
Carnegie Museum and others, and conceived the idea for a
biosystematists group. Contributing to this germ was his fortuitous
discovery of the book by H. B. Baker (1932) on continental drift and
his consequent realization of the potential for inter-disciplinary
exchange. On his return to Stanford, he claims to have discussed the
idea with colleagues and subsequently took the lead in organizing the
group. This claim is supported by Herbert Mason who remembered meeting
with Keck "and others" in Berkeley to discuss possible interest by
Berkeley faculty in participating. Hiesey also gives Keck credit for
being the originator of the idea for monthly meetings in the Bay Area
(letter to Lincoln Constance dated 19 January 1974). Moreover, Robert
Usinger who was a member from about 1938, states that "...the
Biosystematists' organization was started by David Keck of the Carnegie
Institution at Stanford" (Usinger, 1972: 68).
Another
development that may have helped Keck and others formulate their idea
for the new organization was that a group with similar objectives had
formed in the East. It was centered in New York with Columbia
University and the American Museum of Natural History being the primary
institutions involved (Smocovitis, 1994: 249-250). The leader of this
group was L. C. Dunn with other notables such G. G. Simpson, E. Mayr,
and Theodosius Dobzhansky being involved. Ira Wiggins mentioned a group
in the East similar to the Biosystematists in a letter to Lincoln
Constance on 13 June 1971 which probably referred to this one in New
York. Wiggins claimed, however, that the eastern group folded within
five years. While this may be true, it is this eastern assemblage of
prominent evolutionists that led eventually (1946) to the formation of
the Society for the Study of Evolution (Smocovitis, 1994). Members of
the Biosystematists clearly were also involved in this event as its
agenda for the 5 February 1946 meeting included a discussion of the new
organization, to be established at the AAAS meetings in March of that
year, with a consideration of possible nominations for officers.
In
passing it may be noted that the Biosystematists model was followed by
others. In the 1950s and early 1960s there was a Southern California
Biosystematists (D. R. Savage, pers. comm.), and the long-lasting (but
now defunct) Kennicott Club of Chicago may have had similar objectives.
This latter club actually preceded the Biosystematists by a few years,
and was an association of working naturalists, rather than evolutionary
biologists (O. Pergams and F. A. Pitelka, pers. comm.).
The
origin of the name "Biosystematists" is also of considerable interest.
A name for the fledgling organization was apparently discussed "around
the table" at the group's third meeting. Both Ledyard Stebbins and
George S. Myers recall (1978) that Gordon Ferris might have suggested
the name, but Hiesey gives this credit to Ernest B. Babcock (1974
letter). Botanists generally credit the term "biosystematics" to Camp
and Gilly (1943), but clearly this is wrong (also Smocovitis, pers.
comm.). In a letter to Robert C. Miller dated 15 July 1940, the
organization was referred to as "The Biosystematists". It was
consistently called "Biosystematists" until 1998 when "Bay Area
Biosystematists (BABS)" unceremoniously appeared.
There is
no record of charter members of the group. Aside from the three leaders
based at Stanford, E. B. Babcock took the lead in recruiting faculty
from Berkeley. According to Keck, Joseph Grinnell, Director of the
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, was invited to join but declined,
recommending his young colleague Seth B. Benson. The California Academy
of Sciences was also soon involved through R. C. Miller, and some early
meetings were held there as well. One initial member, H. E. McMinn, was
from Mills College. Thus the evidence suggests that the following 14
were among the initial participants: Jens Clausen, William M. Hiesey,
David D. Keck of the Carnegie Institution of Washington; Ernest B.
Babcock, Seth B. Benson, Ralph Chaney, Herbert L. Mason, Alden H.
Miller, and G. Ledyard Stebbins, Jr. of the University of California in
Berkeley; LeRoy Abrams, Gordon F. Ferris, George S. Myers, and Ira L.
Wiggins of Stanford University; and Howard E. McMinn of Mills College
(Oakland). By 1939/40 there were 27 members (Table
1), including such notables as Lincoln Constance, Richard B.
Goldschmidt, Robert C. Miller, and Robert L. Usinger.
Not much
is known about the officers and programs during this first decade of
the group's existence. Jens Clausen was likely the coordinator for the
first two years, and Herbert Mason may have done this job for 1938/39
(cf., his invitation letter to R. C. Miller of 28 Sept. 1938). Aside
from the initial program in October 1936, the next record of a program
was for November 1938 when D. I. Axelrod spoke on the origin of the
Californian element in the flora of California. For 1939/40, we have a
list of seven speakers and dates, but no topics. To this list is
appended the interesting comment that "speakers will arrange for a
place to eat and will send out notices of meetings." In February and
March 1941 the program was, respectively: E. G. Linsley on the
evolution of floral relationships in bees, and R. C. Miller on
geography and evolution -- a motion picture on the Galapagos Islands by
David Lack. Stebbins and Goldschmidt were probably program officers for
this academic year. We do have a partial program for 1941/42 which was
assembled by these two leaders in May of 1941. For the four meetings of
October 1941 through January 1942, 16 of the 22 chapters in Julian
Huxley's "The New Synthesis" were reviewed. Reviewers and alternates
were assigned and four chapters were covered each meeting. In 1942/43
the program chairman was Goldschmidt, and Stebbins wrote a letter to
members implying that he was in charge (25 Sept. 1942). The letter
expressed concerns about the group being able to continue to meet with
gasoline rationing and dim-out restrictions imposed by World War II.
Stebbins suggested Saturday afternoon meetings ("as last year") in San
Francisco (either at the California Academy of Sciences or at the
University of California's Extension Division on Powell Street) both of
which could be reached easily with public transportation. Apparently,
the organization was relatively inactive from this time until the end
of the war, but did meet at least occasionally. Stebbins seems to have
been coordinator (Secretary?) in 1945/46, and we know there were
meetings in at least February (R. A. Stirton on evolutionary progress
in the horses) and May. The May meeting was at the Placerville Forest
Genetics Station, and a remarkable photograph exists from this event (see photo). There are 21 people in the
photo, four of whom were hosts from the Station and two may have been
guests, leaving 15 Biosystematists members (including seven of the
"charter" members).
Although
major gaps remain in the historical record for this decade, it seems
appropriate to pull together what we do have at this time. Hopefully,
additional information will be found, perhaps with this essay serving
as an encouragement for others to search through old files.
There
were in fact no women on the membership rolls of the Biosystematists
until 1971, a period of almost 35 years. At least for the earlier part
of this interval, most of the long-term members believed that this fact
merely reflected the scarcity of women in evolutionary biology in the
Bay Area during that period. As recently as September 1998, Ledyard
Stebbins, one of the founding members, claimed simply that in the early
years no woman met the criteria for membership, which as explained
earlier were fairly restrictive. When the subject came up at the 1978
"40th anniversary" meeting of the society, Seth Benson jokingly noted
the argument that he had heard to the effect that "women would not
understand an organization that did not have any women in it." Another
speaker at that symposium, Herbert Mason, commented that "the group had
no objection to women; we just did not invite them." In spite of this
superficially benign situation, at least a few female biologists felt
that they should have been invited to join and were not (including
Annetta Carter and Elizabeth B. McClintock).
Certainly
toward the end of this 35 year period there were women scientists in
the area who likely would have qualified for membership, even by the
fairly severe early standards. Some women did attend as guests, just as
graduate students did. Although there were no records kept of such
instances, some members recall two women guests: Aloha (Hanna) Alava,
research associate of Curt Stern, and Olga Pavlovsky, research
associate of Theodosius Dobzhansky. Of course it might be argued that
although these two held Ph.D. degrees they did not have independent
research programs, and hence did not qualify as members. There is
evidence, however, that a few members did object on principle to
opening membership to females. Based on correspondence or in some cases
on recollections of others, the following were known or alleged to have
objected at one time or another to including women as members of the
society: Jens Clausen, Paul Hurd, Herbert Mason, and Ira Wiggins. In a
letter to Lincoln Constance, then chairman of the Executive Committee,
Wiggins wrote on 13 June 1971, as a member of this committee, that he
was withdrawing his objections to admitting women to the group. He
added the interesting explanation that he had heretofore been opposed
to opening the group to women because "founders of Biosystematists in
the east, before we set our group up in business included females and
within five years infighting had wrecked the group and it ceased to
function."
From the
perspective of most members of the Biosystematists who were
participating before 1971, the gender issue rarely surfaced, and no one
can recall it reaching the level of a "discussion" or debate. I think I
remember a single instance in which a woman was suggested for
membership before 1971. A senior member of the group simply explained
that she did not qualify according to the group's criteria, and the
matter was dropped. Jerry Powell, who became a member in 1961, says (in
litt., Feb. 1999) "I do not remember there being any controversy about
Biosystematists being a "men only club"; although some older members
may have objected when the first women were suggested ..."
The
revolution occurred in 1971 (this incidentally was also a high year for
membership numbers; see Table 1). In
letters, John H. Thomas nominated Elizabeth B. McClintock on 15 April,
George W. Barlow nominated Margaret Bradbury on 29 April, Marvalee Wake
was nominated by Ned K. Johnson on 4 June, and about that time Ledyard
Stebbins nominated Earleen Atchison Rupert and Dorothy Lowery. The
discussions within the Executive Committee (Lincoln Constance,
chairman, Ira Wiggins, George Lindsay, and Herman T. Spieth) on these
historically important nominations were recorded in (1) a letter of 8
June from Constance to the rest of the committee supporting four of
these women nominees (not including Lowery), ( 2) a note from Lindsay
to Constance dated 10 June saying "I think it is time to admit female
members ...", and pointing to the excellent qualifications of M. Wake,
and (3) the aforementioned letter by Wiggins dated 13 June endorsing
three women candidates and accepting the evaluations of Stebbins for
the other two. After discussion by the Executive Committee, these five
women were approved for membership along with three men. On 17 July,
Constance wrote to outgoing Secretary Ned Johnson instructing him to
add these eight names to the membership list.
Following
this 1971 breakthrough, women were regularly admitted to membership,
and no further opposition to this development has been found in the
written records or recalled by members. In 1975, Nancy Vivrette (now
Haller) was appointed the first woman Secretary, and she served two
terms (1975/76 and 1976/77). Not surprisingly, the organization has
survived.
The
ensuing list of officers not only documents who have been the leaders
of the organization but also tracks the group's efforts to experiment
with different administrative arrangements. Responsibility for
leadership varied from a single officer, the Secretary (e.g.., 1949/50
to 1962/63), up to 12 or 13 officers (e.g.., 1986/87 to 1992/93). The
most common arrangement was for a single Program Officer or Secretary
backed up by an Executive Committee whose main responsibility was to
appoint the Secretary each year. Very little information has been
located for the first decade (1936-1946), and that which was found is
mentioned in the section above on that decade. Likewise, no information
on officers was discovered for fall 1946 through the summer of 1949,
except that in February 1948 Ledyard Stebbins sent out a meeting
announcement and membership list suggesting that he served in this
capacity in 1947/48. Perhaps he was Secretary for the period 1946/47
through 1948/49 (as well as earlier). The following compilation starts
with the academic year 1949/50. Figure 3 (see
photo) was taken on the occasion of a belated 40th anniversary
meeting in May, 1978. Of the ten Secretaries serving between then and
1957/58, nine are shown plus Stebbins.
In
preparing this account of officers, I have become impressed with how
poor unaided personal memories can be. Moreover, suppositions with
sufficient repetition can become viewed as "facts." For the benefit of
future researchers, note that one source of confusion comes from the
organization adhering roughly to an academic calendar. Decisions were
usually made in May regarding the leadership for the next academic
year, and sometimes documents listing officers do not make it explicit
that they are for the next year. Also summer intervals are sometimes
covered by the out-going officers and sometimes by the new ones. In at
least one year, the new officers did not take over until early December.
In the
following tabulation, names are given in full only the first time the
person is mentioned; thereafter only family names are used. Note how
the titles of the various positions change over time. Since there were
no written rules, changes came easily. Even after a formal set of
organizational rules was adopted in 1986, it was followed only until
the autumn of 1993; a new format was adopted in 1995. As noted, major
changes in the organization's structure and philosophy occurred in 1988.
1949-50 to 1956-57 (8 years) -- Secretary: Robert L. Usinger
1957-58 to 1959-60 (3 years) -- Secretary: Seth B. Benson
1960-61 -- Secretary: Paul D. Hurd, Jr.
1961-62 to 1962-63 (2 years) -- No information, but, by interpolation, Hurd was likely Secretary.
1963-64 -- Secretary: Hurd
Membership Committee (this committee was also charged with appointing the Secretary so served as an executive committee): Alden H. Miller (Chairman), William. A. Hiesey, George E. Lindsay, Charles M. Rick, Usinger
Committee on Organization (this ad hoc committee gave their report in April which consisted of an eight-point resolution): Ruben A. Stirton (Chairman), Benson, Hurd, John M. Tucker, Ira L. Wiggins
1964-65 to 1965-66 (2 years) -- Secretary: Hurd
I assume that the Membership Committee continued. There is some evidence that in the second of these years, the Secretarial duties were shared among Hurd, Usinger, and John A. Chemsak.
1966-67 -- Secretary: Ned K. Johnson; Executive Committee -- Usinger (Chairman), Lindsay, Rick, Wiggins
1967-68 -- Secretary: Robert Ornduff
Executive Committee -- Lindsay (Chairman), probably Rick and Wiggins cont. (Usinger died in 1968)
1968-69 -- Secretary: Howell V. Daly
Executive Committee: Lindsay resigned 30 Oct. 1968 and was replaced as Chairman by Hurd; Wiggins, Rick (Ornduff and Johnson may have been added later in the year).
1969-70 -- Secretary: William Z. Lidicker, Jr.
Executive Committee: Hurd (Chairman), Lindsay, Herman T. Spieth, Wiggins (Rick seems to have been acting as Chairman on 19 May 1970, possibly as Hurd resigned to go to the Smithsonian Institution about this time.)
1970-71 -- Secretary: Johnson
Executive Committee: Lincoln Constance (Chairman), Lindsay, Spieth, Wiggins (A note was found that this committee also served as the membership committee which it probably did since its inception in 1966.)
1971-72 -- Secretary: Johnson continued until early December when William A. Clemens took over.
Executive Committee: Constance (Chairman), Lindsay, Wiggins
Membership Committee: Lindsay, Spieth, Wiggins (Note: This is the only year until 1985 when separate Membership and Executive committees were formed.)
1972-73 -- Secretary: Clemens
Executive Committee: Constance (Chair), Lindsay, Spieth, Wiggins
Membership Committee: no information; probably combined with Executive Committee
1973-74 -- Secretary: Clemens continued into the Fall (with assistance from Constance), but was then replaced by Jerry A. Powell (assisted in the Spring by Chemsak)
Executive Committee: Evert I. Schlinger (Chair), Lidicker, Tucker, William N. Eschmeyer, and a fifth position for someone from Stanford was unfilled
Membership Committee: no further mention of this committee was found until 1985, so presumably its duties were reassumed by the Executive Committee
1974-75 -- Secretary: Powell. Executive Committee: Schlinger (Chair), Lidicker, Tucker, Eschmeyer, John H. Thomas
1975-76 -- Secretary: Nancy Vivrette. Executive Committee: Schlinger (Chair), Lidicker, no record of others (probably also Thomas)
1976-77 -- Secretary: Vivrette. Executive Committee: Schlinger (Chair), Lidicker, Thomas
1977-78 -- Secretary: George F. Papenfuss. Executive Committee: continued.
1978-79 to 1979-80 (2 years) -- Secretary: Joseph T. Gregory. Executive Committee: continued.
1980-81 to 1984-85 (5 years) -- Secretary: G. Ledyard Stebbins (except that during Dec. through March of 81/82 Schlinger and Lidicker substituted for Stebbins). Executive Committee: continued
1985-86 -- Secretary: Stebbins continued. Executive Committee: continued.
Council: A "Plan for the Future" of the organization was drafted by the Executive Committee and adopted in the Spring. It called for an 8-person Council and a Membership Committee which were established as follows: Council -- Schlinger (prob. Chair), Lidicker, Thomas, Stebbins, O. Ray Collins, David H. Kavanaugh, Kevin Padian, John Hafernik; Membership Committee: Thomas (Chair), Lidicker (Chair as of May 1986), Padian.
By 10 April 1986, Barbara Ertter was functioning as the Treasurer/Recording Secretary.
1986-87 -- Program Chair: Collins. Council: Thomas (Chair), Ertter (Recording Secretary), Lidicker, Collins, Padian, Kavanaugh, Hafernik, Rick.
Membership Committee: Lidicker (Chair), Padian, Thomas
1987-88 -- All officers continuing except that Padian became Chair of the Membership Committee
1988-89 -- Program Chair: Thomas. Council: Thomas (Chair), Ertter (Recording Secretary), Daphne Fautin, Hafernik, Lidicker, Padian, Collins, Rick. Membership Committee: Padian (Chair), Hafernik, Rick
1989-90 -- Program Chair: Thomas cont.
Council: Padian (Chair), Thomas, Ertter (Membership Secretary), Fautin, Hafernik, Rick, Powell, Donald R. Kaplan
Membership Committee: Hafernik (Chair), Padian, Rick, Powell
1990-91 -- Program Chair: Thomas continued. Council: Padian (Chair), Ertter (Membership Secretary), Thomas, Hafernik, Tomio Iwamoto, Kaplan, Powell, Rick.
Membership Committee: Hafernik (Chair), Powell, Rick
1991-92 -- Program Chairperson: Padian. Council: Kaplan (Chair), Ertter (Membership Secretary), Hafernik, Iwamoto, Powell, Thomas, Padian, Grady L. Webster
Membership Committee: Powell (Chair), Hafernik, Iwamoto, Thomas, Webster
1992-93 -- Program Chair: Charles Quibell. Council: Kaplan (Chair), Ertter (Membership Secretary), Hafernik, Iwamoto, Powell, Quibell, Thomas, Webster
Membership Committee: continued.
1993-94 -- Program Chair: Quibell continued. Council: continued.
Membership Committee: Powell (Chair), no other members recorded; abolished mid-year
1994-95 -- Program Committee: Michael T. Ghiselin, Lidicker, Brent D. Mishler
Social Chairman: Quibell, assisted by Lidicker
Executive Committee: Kaplan (Chair), Harold W. Kerster (Recording Secretary), Quibell, Lidicker, Ghiselin, Mishler. In February 1995, Mishler's suggestion for changing to only three officers was adopted.
1995-96 to 1996-97 (two years)-- Program Chair: Ghiselin (with assistance from Mishler and Lidicker)
Social Chair: Lidicker. Corresponding Secretary/Treasurer: Kerster
1997-98 -- Program Chair: Mishler. Social Chair: Ghiselin. Secretary/Treasurer: Kerster
1998-99 -- Program Committee: Martin F. Wojciechowski (Chair), Peter Fritsch, Kelly Steele, Dennis Wall
Social Chair: Ghiselin. Secretary/ Treasurer: Kerster
1999-2000* -- Program Chair: Mishler
Social Chair: Wojciechowski
Secretary/Treasurer: Kerster
*correction to original essay by Webmaster
1999-2000 -- Program Committee: Wojciechowski, James A. Doyle, Martin Brittan, and H. Bradley Shaffer
Social Chair: Mishler
Secretary/Treasurer: Kerster
Perhaps
this essay will also trigger the discovery of new information that can
help to fill the many gaps remaining in this history. The material on
which it is based will be deposited in the archives at the California
Academy of Sciences and also posted on the Biosystematists' web page
(http://www.biosystematists.org).
Camp, W. H. and C. L. Gilly. 1943. The
structure and origin of species. Brittonia4: 323-385.
Dietrich, M. R. 1995. Richard
Goldschmidt's heresies and the evolutionary synthesis. Journal of
the History of Biology28: 431-461.
Futuyma, D. J. 1998. Evolutionary
biology, 3rd ed., 810 pp. Sinauer Associates, Sutherland, MA.
Mayr, E. 1997. Goldschmidt and the
evolutionary synthesis: a response. Journal of the History of
Biology30: 31-33.
Smocovitis, V. B. 1994. Organizing
evolution: founding the society for the study of evolution (1939-1950).
Journal of the History of Biology27:241-309.
Smocovitis, V. B. 1997. G. Ledyard
Stebbins, Jr. and the evolutionary synthesis (1924-1950). American
Journal of Botany84: 1625-1637.
Usinger, R. L. 1972. Robert Leslie
Usinger: an autobiography of an entomologist. 330 pp. Pacific Coast
Entomological Society, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco.
Copyright 2000 by the California Academy of Sciences