Collection: Romeo Mansueti papers | Archival Collections

Romeo Mansueti (1923-1963) was a biologist and research professor at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory and at the University of Maryland. He received his bachelor's degree (1948) and master's degree (1950) from the University of Maryland and Ph.D. (1957) from Johns Hopkins University. Mansueti's papers document his professional work on various committees and as editor of several scientific journals, as well as his research on fish migration, bionomics of fresh water and estuarine fish populations, and the taxonomy and ecology of fish eggs. Teaching materials, reports and pamphlets, legislation on commercial fishing, and photographs are also included.

Dates

1922-1963
Majority of material found within 1950-1963

Use and Access to Collection

This collection is open to the public and must be used in the Special Collections reading room. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

Duplication and Copyright Information

Photocopies of original materials may be provided for a fee and at the discretion of the curator. Please see our Duplication of Materials policy for more information. Queries regarding publication rights and copyright status of materials within this collection should be directed to the appropriate curator.

Extent

21.25 Linear Feet

Additional Description

Scope and Content of Collection

The papers of Romeo Mansueti cover the period from 1922 to 1963; the bulk of the materials date from 1950 to 1963. The collection includes correspondence, reports, clippings, pamphlets, photographs, notes, memorabilia, and manuscripts, which relate primarily to Mansueti's research projects. Also included are drafts of Mansueti's doctoral dissertation.

The files also document Mansueti's work on various committees, his activities as editor of Copeia and Chesapeake Science, and his years as professor at the University of Maryland.

Among the correspondents are Eugene Cronin, director of the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, Tom McNally, a journalist of the Baltimore Evening and Sunday Sun, the U.S. Department of Wildlife, and numerous scientists.

Biography

Romeo Mansueti was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on May 18, 1923, and moved to Baltimore County, Maryland, at an early age. Due to his participation in World War II he did not receive his B.S. until 1948, and his M.S. in 1950, both from the University of Maryland. In 1954 Mansueti received an $8000 grant from the National Science Foundation for his research, which resulted in his doctoral dissertation on the white perch and a Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins University in 1957.

From 1948 to 1950 Mansueti worked as zoological assistant at the University of Maryland. In 1950 he became Senior Fishery Biologist at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory of the Maryland Department of Research and Education. In 1962 he was promoted to the position of research professor at the University of Maryland.

Mansueti served as curator at the Natural History Society of Maryland between 1939 and 1955, and as curator of its museum from 1946 to 1950. In 1950 he was a science aide at the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

Mansueti also served as ichthyological editor of the scientific journal Copeia between 1959 and 1963. And beginning in 1962 and until his death, he was managing editor of the Chesapeake Science journal. In addition, Mansueti was a member of numerous scientific societies, including the Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, the British Ecological Society, and the Marine Biologists Association.

Having developed an early interest in natural sciences, Mansueti had written two books by 1946 on reptiles and amphibians in Baltimore County, and on herpetology in Calvert County. In addition to the grant received in 1954, Mansueti received a second grant of $20,000 in 1960 from the Natural Science Foundation to study the early development stages of commercially important fish. His main areas of interest were fish migration, bionomics of freshwater and estuarine fish populations, and the taxonomy and ecology of fish eggs, larvae and young.

Romeo Mansueti died in June 1963 during open-heart surgery. Posthumously, his wife Alice, a scientific illustrator, and biologist Jerry D. Hardy assembled Mansueti's remaining research notes on 600 species of fish, with support of a grant received in 1964, and published a five-volume atlas on the development of fishes of the Chesapeake Bay region.

Arrangement

The collection has been divided into seven series

Series 1: Research Manuscripts
Series 2: Related Activities
Series 3: Reports and Pamphlets
Series 4: Clippings
Series 5: Dissertation
Series 6: Photographs and Slides
Series 7: Memorabilia

Custodial History and Acquisition Information

Mrs. Alice Mansueti donated the papers of Romeo Mansueti to the University of Maryland College Park Libraries in 1966. Kathy Heil of the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory donated additional materials in 1986.

Related Material

Various publications of Romeo Mansueti can be found in the Maryland Collection and in the University Publications collection within Special Collections. Thes can be located by searching the university's Online Catalog.

Processing Information

The addendum was refoldered into acid-free materials. After combining the addendum with the previously processed materials, the entire collection was reorganized into a new series arrangement. Photographs have been placed with the photograph collection.

In September 2011, photographs that had previously been placed in the Subject Photographs - Print File collection were removed from that collection and reintegrated into the Mansueti papers.

Topics

Administrative Information

Title: Guide to the Romeo Mansueti papers
Status: Completed
Author: Addendum incorporated and guide revised by Birgit Prelle, November 1989; Addendum incorporated and guide revised by Tammy Hamilton, October 2003.
Date: 1989-11
Description rules: Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description: English
Script of description: Code for undetermined script
Language of description note: Finding aid written in English

Library Details

Part of the Special Collections and University Archives

http://www.lib.umd.edu/special

Contact:
University of Maryland Libraries
Hornbake Library
4130 Campus Drive
College Park Maryland 20742
301-405-9212
askhornbake@umd.edu

Romeo Mansueti papers

Dates

Use and Access to Collection

Duplication and Copyright Information

Extent

Additional Description

Scope and Content of Collection

Biography

Arrangement

Custodial History and Acquisition Information

Related Material

Processing Information

Topics

Administrative Information

Library Details

Library Details

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