Papers documenting the life and career of University of California, Berkeley zoologist Charles Atwood Kofoid (1865-1947) and his wife, Carrie Prudence Winter Kofoid (1966-1942). The collection includes material on the Kofoids' families and education, in addition to correspondence, diaries, manuscripts, published writings, scientific research and travel.
Charles Atwood Kofoid Papers, 1832 - 1949 (SMC 24)
OFF-SITE STORAGE: COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. ALLOW TWO TO THREE (2-3) WEEKS FOR RETRIEVAL OF MATERIALS.
Extent: 46.7 Linear feet (103 archives boxes, 1 card file box, 5 flat boxes)
Digital Content
Selected materials from this collection have been digitized.
Charles Atwood Kofoid (1865-1947) was a noted zoologist at University of California, Berkeley and an early advocate for the development of a marine station in La Jolla that would later become the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Charles was born to Nelson Kofoid and Janette Blake in Granville, Illinois. He had three younger half-siblings, Herbert Clayton Kofoid, Nellie Kofoid Dillon, and Reuben Nelson Kofoid. He met his wife, Carrie Prudence Winter (1866-1942), while studying at Oberlin College; both graduated in 1890. Kofoid continued his education at Harvard, receiving an A.M. degree in 1892 and PhD in 1894, with research focused on plankton and protozoa. After college, Carrie taught at the Kawaiaho Seminary in Honolulu, Hawaii. From Hawaii, she composed letters reporting on social life and local politics, including the overthrow of the monarchy. Many of her essays and accounts were published in the Hartford Courant. Charles and Carrie married on June 30, 1894 and had no children.
Kofoid was superintendent of the Illinois River Biological Station from 1897 to 1903. In 1904 and 1905, he explored the eastern tropical Pacific with Alexander Agassiz on the Albatross Expedition, serving as planktonologist. A life-long traveler and collector, Kofoid visited numerous freshwater and marine biological stations in Europe in 1908-1909, photographing and recording information on the stations which he published in The Biological Stations of Europe. He later travelled extensively in India and Japan. Kofoid was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1922.
Alongside William Ritter, Kofoid advocated for the establishment of a marine station in La Jolla, the Marine Biological Association of San Diego (later known as the Scripps Institution of Oceanography). Kofoid was the assistant director at Scripps from 1903-1923. In 1910, Kofoid succeeded William Ritter as chair of the Department of Zoology at UC Berkeley and remained in that position until 1936. Charles Kofoid died in Berkeley in 1947.
Papers documenting the life and career of University of California, Berkeley zoologist Charles Atwood Kofoid and his wife, Carrie Prudence Winter Kofoid. The collection includes material on the Kofoids' families and education, in addition to correspondence, diaries, manuscripts, published writings, and research papers. The bulk of the collection consists of personal and professional correspondence covering diverse topics, including letters to and from family members, letters documenting Charles Kofoid's early involvement in the Marine Biological Association of San Diego and its transfer to the University of California, and Carrie Kofoid's observations about life in Hawaii dating from 1890-1893. The papers also include notes, letters and memorabilia from Oberlin College; clippings; writings and photographs from the Kofoids' extensive travels; and records of the Kofoid Library.
Arranged in eleven series: 1) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS, 2) CORRESPONDENCE, 3) DIARIES, 4) ADDRESS BOOKS AND CALENDARS, 5) WRITINGS, 6) TRAVEL, 7) KOFOID LIBRARY, 8) FINANCIAL RECORDS, 9) PHOTOGRAPHS, 10) DRAWINGS AND ARTWORK, and 11) OBJECTS.