In 2005, Zoology Academic Curator Paula Holahan made an accidental discovery: he unearthed a priceless collection of ocean invertebrates made out of glass. Holahan revealed a collection of rarely seen glass models that depict numerous fragile figurines of jellyfish, radiolarians and sea anemones with spiky tentacles. Handmade by Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka in the 19th-century, the glass works were produced in a time when the mystery of the deep-sea sparked the interest of many.
Donald Zillman (BS’66, History, JD’69), Richard Hoffman (BA’65, History), Richard Hays (BS’66, Political Science), and Stuart Grover (BA’66, MA’67, Ph.D.’71, History) made up the 1965 University of Wisconsin-Madison College Bowl team that competed at the national level. They won five straight matches on their way to retiring as undefeated champions! For their great achievement the four, along with [...]
Fifty years ago, on Saturday October, 20, 1962, 1,200 banquet diners attended a celebration at the Wisconsin Field House. Popular history professor Fred Harvey Harrington was inaugurated as the 14th President of the University of Wisconsin-Madison that day. The occasion also observed the centennial anniversary of the Morrill Land-Grant Act, which was signed into law [...]
John Bascom’s name is honored on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. His daughter, Florence Bascom, is just as celebrated in the field of geology. Florence Bascom is considered to be the first female geologist in the United States. She was the first woman hired by the United States Geological Survey, which profiled her this week [...]
In August 1958, University of Wisconsin-Madison Associate Professor of History William Appleman Williams (b. 1921– d. 1990) filled out a faculty information sheet for the University News Service. In these standardized forms, faculty members were asked to submit biographical information detailing their publications, honors, military service, membership in professional societies, and even their hobbies and [...]
Today we remember former University of Wisconsin-Madison professor, president and College of Letters & Science dean Edward Asahel Birge (September 7, 1851 – June 9, 1950). Birge joined the UW-Madison faculty in 1875 as an instructor in natural history. He was also a pioneer educator in the study of limnology. Birge served as acting president [...]
Badgers! It’s time to brush up on your UW-Madison trivia. On Wisconsin! Learn it. Live it. Love it! Did you know: On Wisconsin was composed in 1909 by W.T. Purdy, who had never actually been to Wisconsin. In fact, he wrote the song with the intention of entering it in a $100 contest for a [...]
Varsity Welcome, c. 1929. Every fall, a new crop of students arrived in Madison to begin their academic experience. “Varsity Welcome” on Bascom Hill was one of their first opportunities to meet fellow students and participate in a campus-wide activity as an new Badger. Students would march in formation up the hill to be greeted [...]
As people converge on London for the Olympic Games, we thought it might be fun to reflect on a time when travel across the Pond was much different. In 2011, thanks to a grant from the Friends of the UW-Madison Libraries, the University Archives acquired a diary entitled “Seeing the British Isles in 1929,” written [...]
Arthur Hasler was a world renowned limnologist, who enjoyed a 41-year career as a member of the University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty. Born in Lehi, Utah, on January 5, 1908, Hasler graduated from Brigham Young University in 1932, and earned a Ph.D. in Zoology from UW-Madison in 1937. He then joined the UW-Madison faculty as an [...]
“American history was screwball.” This is one of the many colorful quotes showcased in this 1982 interview with the late George Mosse, the famed UW-Madison history professor. Mosse taught European history at Madison from 1955 to 1989, and made enormous contributions to scholarship on Judaism, nationalism, and sexuality. The current Humanities building – as well [...]
Story by UW Archives Imagine your kids are on the playground at school, engaged in a time-honored round of “my dad’s stronger than your dad” or “my mom’s smarter than your mom.” And then, they run into this bunch. Here’s how I imagine it goes down: “My dad can see stars!” “Big deal, my dad’s the university [...]
The UW-Madison Archives recently posted a photo gallery on flickr documenting the construction of the UW Arborteum. The pictures show Arboretum construction activities in Madison, Wisconsin dating roughly from 1930-1950. Images include land preparation and restoration, planting activities, wall and structure construction, and work to improve the water quality of Lake Wingra. To view the [...]
Story by UW Archives President Barack Obama is not the only president to praise Wisconsin’s favorite conservationist, Aldo Leopold. In this letter dated January 1917, former President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt congratulates Mr. Leopold on his work with the Albuquerque Game Protective Association. Well done, Mr. Leopold, well done. We think you are “simply capital” too. Hep [...]
“A true account of two important documents and what came of them.” Perhaps the student was fumbling about for a pencil when she discovered a letter tucked at the back of a desk drawer in Suite 18 of Ladies’ Hall. Whatever the circumstances, the letter proved to be a happy discovery for the student (a [...]
Even a world-famous architect can’t make it to every class. The photograph on the right shows a picture of Frank Lloyd Wright’s progress report with a note from the professor that he had “failed to appear in class.” The image is dated from the 1880s.
Story by Molly Temple, UW Archives The Pro Arte Quartet, shown here performing in 1956 or 1957, was originally formed in Brussels in 1911 and is believed to be the world’s oldest continuously performing string quartet. While performing at UW’s Union Theater on May 10, 1940, the quartet received the news that Belgium had been [...]
Happy Birthday Edward Asahel Birge! Birge was born September 7th in Troy, New York 160 years ago. We remember Birge as a much beloved Zoology professor, pioneer Limnologist, and respected Dean and university administrator in the College of Letters & Science.
Are you planning a department anniversary? Hosting a retirement event for an esteemed faculty or staff member? Coordinating a reunion? The UW Archives and Records Management division is ready to assist you in commemorating and preserving your event in a variety of ways.
