Descriptive Entry

These records consist of incoming and outgoing professional correspondence of the Division of Coleoptera concerning the acquisition, identification, loan, and distribution of specimens from 1963 to 1971. Also included are records documenting visitors to the Division from 1965 to 1979.

Historical Note

The Division of Coleoptera in the United States National Museum was created at the time of the establishment of the Department of Entomology in July 1963. The Department was organized by discipline into five divisions: Neuropteroids, Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Myriapoda and Arachnida, and Hemiptera. Curators represented by these records include Oscar L. Cartwright, Terry L. Erwin, and Paul J. Spangler. Cartwright was appointed Associate Curator of Insects in 1948, became Curator of Coleoptera when the Division was created in 1963, and was named Emeritus Entomologist when he retired in 1970. Erwin was hired in 1970 as Assistant Curator, and later became an Associate Curator. Spangler was appointed Associate Curator of Insects in 1962, and was assigned to the Division of Coleoptera in 1963.