Roy Linn Abbott Papers
Scope and Contents
Both the scripts and the scrapbooks give a good picture of Professor Abbott's popular style of nature writing.
Dates
- Creation: 1930-1964
Creator
- Abbott, Roy L. (Person)
Language of Materials
Materials entirely in English.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions. Materials are open for research.
General Use, Reproduction, and Copyright Policies
Many items housed in the Rod Library Special Collections & University Archives, including unpublished images and manuscripts, may be protected by copyright, publication rights, trademarks, or model release rights which the library does not own and for which the library cannot grant permission or licensing. Materials currently under copyright are usually still available for research and limited reproduction under Fair Use laws. However, it is the sole responsibility of the patron to determine whether or not their use of a given material falls within Fair Use guidelines and to obtain permission for said use from the rightful copyright owner.
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy or similar laws, and the Iowa Open Records Law (see Iowa Code ยง 22.7). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of Northern Iowa assumes no responsibility.
Biographical / Historical
Roy Linn Abbott (1886-1968) was a distinguished, long-time member of the science faculty of the University of Northern Iowa. He was born in Muscatine, Iowa, on May 5, 1886. He graduated from Conesville (Iowa) High School and, after teaching in rural schools, received a bachelor's degree from the Iowa State Teachers College in 1915. He received his master's degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1917 and joined the faculty of the Iowa State Teachers College in September of that year. He received the Ph. D. from the University of Wisconsin in 1925.
Abbott was also a naturalist who could explain the natural world to a wide and general audience. He published hundreds of articles in newspapers and magazines across the United States. When the Teachers College inaugurated its radio service, Professor Abbott contributed over eight hundred programs in the following twenty-two years, including many programs after his retirement from classroom responsibilities in 1954.
Professor Abbott died in Bradenton, Florida, on December 8, 1968.
Extent
3.67 Linear Feet (4 boxes)
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Some of the papers in this collection accumulated gradually over the years in the SC&UA. The scrapbooks came to SC&UA from Lela Mae Ping Abbott, Professor Abbott's widow in about 1970 and the scripts in Box 4, from Professor Abbott's "Everyday Science" radio program, came from the UNI Museum in 2010. The UNI Museum transferred a copy of the study guide for "A Scientist Looks About Him" (1945) and a copy of the study guide for "Everyday Science" (1945-1946) in July 2023.
Processing Information
Collection processed by University Archivist Gerald L. Peterson, June 2010. Updated by Gerald Peterson, July 2, 2010 and Library Associate Dave Hoing, January 2018 and April 2018. Linear feet updated on September 15, 2017.
- Title
- Roy Linn Abbott Papers
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script