Francis Harper (17 November 1886 – 17 November 1972) was an American naturalist known for the study of the 18th-century American naturalists John and William Bartram.[1] His research included studies of the Okefenokee Swamp and fieldwork in the north eastern United States and in northern Canada, and authored new combinations for two species originally described by William Bartram, Garberia heterophylla[2] and Roystonea elata.[3][4]
Harper received an A.B. in 1914 and a Ph.D. in 1925[5] from Cornell University. He taught briefly at Swarthmore College, but beyond that he worked for museums, government agencies and research agencies.[6]
From 1917 through the 1950s Harper spent significant time researching the work of the early North American naturalists John Bartram and his son William Bartram. Harper traced the Bartrams' travels in the American South and helped revive both scientific and popular interest in the Bartrams' work,[9] while keeping notebooks on his fieldworks as early as in 1912.[10] Harper's research into the Bartrams was funded by grants from the John Bartram Association in Philadelphia, the American Philosophical Society, and the Guggenheim Foundation among others.
Extensive publications on both of the Bartrams included annotated editions of John Bartram's "Diary of a Journey through the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida 1765-1766"; William Bartram's "Report to Dr. John Fothergill 1773-1774" and an annotated The Travels of William Bartram: Naturalist’s Edition first published in Philadelphia in 1791.[11]
Harper published on the mammals[12] and folklore[7] of the Okefenokee Swamp, including recordings of the local music. He also published on the "extinct and vanishing" mammals of the old world.[6] His papers are held in the Kenneth Spencer Research Library at the University of Kansas.[6]
"William Bartram's names of birds",[d] Rochester: , 1942? OCLC977478068
"John Bartram's Diary ; and William Bartram's Travels, edited by F. Harper, "Transactions of American Philosophy Society", n.s., 33 (1-2), Philadelphia: APS, 1944.[e]OCLC84528141
"Diary of a Journey through the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida, from July 1, 1765 to April 10, 1766" edited by F. Harper.[14]
"Travels in Georgia and Florida, 1773-74. A Report to Dr. John Fothergill" edited by Francis Harper.[15]
n.s. (December 1942). Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, part 1. Vol. 33. pp. 1–122.
Manville, Richard H (1959). "Book Review: John and William Bartram's America by Helen Gere Cruickshank; by Francis Harper". Journal of Mammalogy. 40 (2): 259–260. doi:10.2307/1376463. ISSN0022-2372. JSTOR1376463. OCLC5550260962.
^Reprinted from "The Auk," vol. LIII, October 1936.
^Reprinted from the "Bulletin of the Garden Club of America", September, 1939.
^Reprinted from the American Midland Naturalist, v. 23, no. 3, May, 1940.
^Reprinted from the "Proceedings of the Rochester Academy of Science" 8: pp.208–221, September 10, 1942.
^Bound in one volume with extra title page. See also the bibliographical note in Brothers of the spade: Correspondence of Peter Collinson, of London, and of John Curtis, of Williamsberg, Virginia, 1734–1746bySwem, E.G., in "Proceedings of American Antiquarian Society", volume 58, part 1. (Apr. 1948)[13] on this work.
^Bartram, William (1998). The travels of William Bartram. Harper, Francis, 1886-1972. (Naturalist's ed.). Athens, Georgia.: University of Georgia Press. ISBN0820320277. OCLC38147862.
^Swem, E. G (1949). Brothers of the spade: correspondence of Peter Collinson, of London, and of John Custis, of Williamsburg, Virginia, 1734-1746. Worcester, Massachusetts: American Antiquarian Society. OCLC950896824. Reprinted from the "Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society"--verso of title page shows "Copyright 1949 American Antiquarian Society Worcester, Massachusetts".
^Briggs, Loutrel Winslow (1959). "Reviewed work: The Travels of William Bartram, Naturalist's Edition, Francis Harper". The South Carolina Historical Magazine. 60 (4): 234–237. JSTOR27566259.
"Bartram Heritage: A Study of the Life of William Bartram : Including the Report to the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service, U.S. Department of the Interior", by Bartram Trail Conference ; Brad Sanders, 1979. OCLC6424517
"John and William Bartram's America" by Cruickshank, Helen Gere, Nueva York : The American Museum of Natural History, 1957. OCLC981340018
Chapter 5: Okefenokee Swampers in "Trembling Earth: A Cultural History of the Okefenokee Swamp", Nelson, Megan Kate, University of Georgia Press, 2005. ISBN0820326771, 9780820326771
