Carl John Drake Papers, 1930-1945

Introduction

This finding aid was digitized with funds generously provided by the Smithsonian Institution Women's Committee.

Descriptive Entry

These papers consist of notebooks recording results of a pest mosquito and black fly control project in Iowa, 1933-1934 and fourteen reels of film documenting various features of Carl John Drake's work with grasshopper and chinch-bug control programs in Iowa and Argentina.

Historical Note

Carl John Drake (1885-1965) was born and educated in Ohio. He taught zoology and entomology at Ohio State University, 1913-1915; Syracuse University, 1915-1922; and became head of the Department of Zoology and Entomology at Iowa State University in 1922. There he also served as head of the Entomology Section of the Agricultural Experiment Station and as State Entomologist. His knowledge of farming helped him to solve many problems related to controlling the grasshopper, chinch-bug, and other insect pests. Drake served on several national entomological organizations and headed the Tucara (grasshopper) Commission to Argentina in 1938-1939. In 1957 Drake joined the United States National Museum as an Honorary Research Associate, in which position he performed much valuable work, especially in tingid studies.