Alfred Sherwood Romer (AC 1917) Papers, 1913-1977

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Biographical Note

Alfred Sherwood Romer (1894-1973) was an eminent vertebrate paleontologist. He graduated from Amherst College in 1917 and then served during World War I in the American Field Service and, subsequently, in the United States Army. It is believed that when he was with A.F.S. he drove ambulances or ammunition trucks in the Chemin des Dames sector; with the U.S. Army, he appears to have been attached to the "Air Service (non-flying)." Romer returned to the U.S. in 1919 and was discharged with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. He earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University. For most of his career, he taught at Harvard University, becoming the Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology in 1947 and directing Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology from 1946 to 1961. In 1956 he won the National Academy of Sciences' Thompson Medal and in 1966 became president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was awarded five honorary degrees, including one from Amherst, and prizes from many other domestic and international scientific societies. As an alumnus, Romer was very active in the life of Amherst College, both as president of the Class of 1917 and as chair of the corporation of Phi Alpha Psi fraternity. Alfred Romer and his wife, Ruth, had three children: a daughter, Sally Evans, and two sons, Robert (AC 1952) and James (AC 1960). Robert Romer is a professor of Physics, Emeritus, at Amherst College. ASR maintained a residence in Pelham, Mass. and throughout his adult life was increasingly active in that community.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The collection consists of correspondence, clippings, photographs and other material relating to Alfred Sherwood Romer's Amherst career, his service in both the American Field Service and the U.S. Army in WWI France, and his later activities as President of the Class of 1917 and as Chairman of the Phi Alpha Psi Fraternity Corporation. The collection includes correspondence pertaining to Phi Alpha Psi's pledging of Thomas W. Gibbs (AC 1951), its first African-American member, and the subsequent expulsion from the national chapter, as well as correspondence pertaining to John William Ward's participation in a Vietnam protest while sitting president of Amherst.

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Organization of the Collection

This collection is organized into two series:

• Scrapbook, 1913-1919
• Amherst Related Correspondence, Manuscripts and Publications, 1942-1977

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SERIES 1: SCRAPBOOK, 1913-1919

The scrapbook contains memorabilia from ASR's four years at Amherst, including photos, tickets, formal affair and sporting event programs, dance cards, short letters, playbills, the announcement of his selection as editor of The Student, his Army registration, train tickets within France, a French traffic violation, a mimeographed note about a new "German GAS," as well as his promotion to Second Lieutenant toward the end of WWI. Included with the scrapbook is a data disk created by Robert H. Romer (AC 1952) containing a guide to the DVD's contents, "Readme-ASR," dated 5/17/09, a short essay by RHR entitled "ASR and WWI," a digital photo of the certificate awarded to ASR upon completion of his service in the A.F.S., as well as digital photos of some of the contents of the scrapbook taken by RHR in August 2007.

SERIES 2: AMHERST-RELATED CORRESPONDENCE, MANUSCRIPTS AND PUBLICATIONS, 1942-1977

Subseries A: Class of 1917 Reunion Materials

Includes correspondence and other planning documents related to the class's 25th, 50th, 60th reunions. Folder 1, 25th Reunion, as well as several pins.

Subseries B: Phi Alpha Psi Correspondence and Publications, 1948-1967

Includes correspondence recording a crucial period in ASR's Chairmanship of Phi Alpha Psi. In 1948, Phi Kappa Psi elected to pledge Tom Gibbs (AC 1951), an African American, as a member. This includes letters to ASR from the present fraternity members as well as from the National Chapter "detailing" their objections to pledging Tom Gibbs. The National Chapter expelled the Amherst chapter and they became "Phi Alpha Psi." Also included are two copies of an offprint of ASR's essay published in the June 1949 issue of The Atlantic Monthly. These were distributed by the National Committee on Fraternities in 1954 with their own postscript added.

Subseries C: Admissions and Scholarships Subcommittee of the Alumni Committee on Postwar Amherst

Correspondence about meetings as well as drafts of the "Admissions and Scholarships Subcommittee" report. Includes a final draft of the document and correspondence showing a foul-up in the delivery of documents from ASR to the Trustees when the report was delivered to them. Throughout, ASR is a strong advocate of greater public school presence at Amherst.

Subseries D: Correspondence with 1917 Alumni, 1945-1973

The later correspondence includes 1967 letters to President Calvin Plimpton (AC 1939) about his treatment of faculty members, particularly around issues of retirement. It also includes ASR's letter of support sent to President John Ward after Ward's 1972 arrest during a protest of the Vietnam War. ASR's son, Robert, had been arrested with Ward at the Westover site in Chicopee.

Subseries E: Miscellaneous Correspondence and Publications