Aaron J. Sharp Papers Regarding the Smoky Mountains
This collection houses papers, reports, publications, meeting minutes, and correspondence created by Dr. Aaron Jack Sharp and various of his colleagues discussing the botany of the Great Smoky Mountains. It also includes a photocopy of a journal Sharp kept during a visit to the Smokies in 1934, original lantern slides depicting Smoky Mountain plants, wildlife, and charts, and a lantern slide projector.
Dates
- 1937-1996
Conditions Governing Access
Collections are stored offsite and must be requested in advance. See www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Conditions Governing Use
The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants on www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Extent
9 Linear Feet
Abstract
This collection houses papers, reports, publications, meeting minutes, and correspondence created by Dr. Aaron Jack Sharp and various of his colleagues discussing the botany of the Great Smoky Mountains. It also includes a photocopy of a journal Sharp kept during a visit to the Smokies in 1934, original lantern slides depicting Smoky Mountain plants, wildlife, and charts, and a lantern slide projector.
Biographical/Historical Note
Dr. Aaron Jack Sharp is an internationally acclaimed University of Tennessee botany professor emeritus. He is renowned for his long continued contributions to the knowledge and understanding of bryophytes. Dr. Sharp traveled to Mexico and Guatemala for the first time in 1944-1946. This was one of several specimen collecting trips to this region. He has collected non-vascular as well as vascular plants around the world. He has traveled to Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, Japan, India, Formosa, the Philippines, Taiwan, Tanzania, the Aleutian Islands, Alaska and many places in the United States.
Dr. Sharp was head of the Department of Botany, University of Tennessee from 1951 to 1961. He has served as President of the Sullivant Moss Society (1935), the Southern Appalachian Botanical Club (1947-48), the Tennessee Academy of Science (1953), the American Society of Plant Taxonomists (1961) and the Botanical Society of America (1965).
Dr. Sharp has received many honors and awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, Alumni Distinguished Professor Award, and the Meritorious Teaching Award of the Association of Southeastern Biologists. The first Bartholomew Award was presented to Dr. Sharp on April 7, 1989 at the 50th annual meeting of the Association of Southeastern Biologists.
In research, Dr. Sharp has produced a wealth of publications, mostly on bryophytes but with occasional articles on fungi, pteridophytes and other vascular plants. Dr. Sharp's first paper on Bryophytes of Eastern Oklahoma appeared in 1929. From this date to the present he has produced an astounding publication record of over 200 publications.
Arrangement
This collection consists of ten boxes divided into three series:
Missing Title
- Series I: Paper Materials, circa 1937-1996
- Series II: Slides and Projector, circa 1930-1940
- Series III: Oversized Materials, 1947-1963
Acquisition Note
This collection is property of the University of Tennessee Libraries, Knoxville, Special Collections.
Repository Details
Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository