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Arthur S. Barclay Collection, 1940-1977, bulk c. 1961-1962

 

Summary

Abstract:
A collection of slides and photographs that belonged to American botanist Dr. Arthur S. Barclay. These images include personal photographs of Dr. Barclay and his family or subjects of Dr. Barclay's research. Most notable are Dr. Barclay's trip to Colombia while a student at Harvard University in 1956, samples of datura plants collected in the Southwestern United States, and the aftermath of automobile accident involving Dr. Barclay's International Harvester B-120 Travelall.
Extent:
0.25 Linear Feet 1 Box
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Arthur S. Barclay Collection, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.

Background

Scope and content:

Series I. Photographs and Slides, 1940-1977: The series includes slides and photographs that were not related to Dr. Barclay's field work were sorted into a folder for personal photographs. Remaining materials were sorted chronologically in relation to Dr. Barclay's field research as a botanist.

Biographical / historical:

Arthur Stewart Barclay (August 5, 1932-November 6, 2003) was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and raised Tulsa, Oklahoma by his parents who taught at the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Barclay would earn his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Tulsa in 1954, his master's degree in 1958 and his doctorate in botany in 1959 at Harvard University. In 1960, Dr. Barclay had been hired by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a field collector for the department's New Crops Research Branch and the National Cancer Institute. In 1962, Dr. Barclay collected bark samples from Taxus Brevifolia, the Pacific Yew tree, near Mount St. Helens in Washington.

Two years later, Dr. Monroe Elliot Wall discovered through Dr. Barclay's samples of the yew's stem bark that it proved positive for cytotoxicity. Dr. Wall asked for more samples from the USDA, who sent Dr. Barclay back to the area in the September of 1964 and sent thirty pounds of samples back to Dr. Wall. Dr. Wall, along with Dr. Mansukh Wani, would succeed in isolating and extracting the compound in 1965 and designated it "K172." K172 was later renamed Taxol in 1967 by the American Chemical Society and was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use against ovarian cancer.

In 1972, Dr. Barclay would transfer to the Medical Plant Resources Lab before transferring again in 1978 to the Economic Botany Lab. Unfortunately, Dr. Barclay was forced to retire in 1980 due to central pontine myelinolysis. Dr. Barclay was able to receive treatment at John Hopkins University and was successfully rehabilitated from the disease. In 1999, Dr. Barclay moved with his wife to Orlando, Florida. On November 6, 2003, Dr. Barclay passed away at the age of 71 following a heart attack.

Acquisition information:
Dr. Barclay's wife, Janet McCutcheon Barclay, donated these materials to the University of Central Florida Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives in 2007 (CFM2007_17).
Processing information:

The collection was processed by Steven Craig Trelstad; finding aid was created by Steven Craig Trelstad in 2018.

Arrangement:

The collection has been arranged chronologically and by subject matter.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The entire collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Preferred citation:

Arthur S. Barclay Collection, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.

Location of this collection:
John C. Hitt Library
12701 Pegasus Drive, Building 2
Orlando
FL
32816-8030
USA