RS 9-9-53 Earl N. Bressman Papers

RS 9/9/53
Bressman, Earl N. (1894-1985)

Papers, 1922-1988, n.d.

Special Collections Department
403 Parks Library
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011-2140

Descriptive summary

creator:	Bressman, Earl N. (1894-1985)
title:	Papers
dates:	1922-1988, n.d.
extent:	0.84 linear ft. (2 document boxes)
collection number:	RS 9/9/53
repository:	University Archives, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University.

Administrative information

access:	Open for research
publication rights:	Consult Head, Special Collections Department
preferred citation:	Earl N. Bressman Papers, RS 9/9/53, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library.

Biographical note

Earl Norman Bressman was born August 27, 1894, near Omaha, Nebraska. He received his B.S. (1920) and M.S. (1927) from Iowa State College (University) and his Ph.D. (1930) from the University of Nebraska.

After receiving his B.S., Dr. Bressman was hired at Iowa State College (University) as Instructor (1920-1922) in the Department of Agronomy. He went on to become Head (1922-1923) of the Agronomy and Farm Management Department at New Mexico State College (University) and then Assistant Professor (1923-1924) of agronomy at Montana State College (University). He was also Associate Agronomist and Professor (1924-1933) at Oregon State College (University).

While attending school at Iowa State, Dr. Bressman became associated with Henry A. Wallace, then the editor of Wallace’s Farmer. In 1922, the two of them collaborated on Corn and Corn Growing, a book which was used as a text in college classrooms for over 30 years with the fifth and final edition released in 1949. Dr. Bressman also wrote scientific articles on farm crops such as corn, hops, and wheat.

Dr. Bressman’s long association with then Secretary of Agriculture, Henry A. Wallace, brought him to work for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as Scientific Adviser (1933-1940) to the Secretary. In this capacity, Dr. Bressman was in charge of the Agricultural Experiment Station at Beltsville, Maryland, as well as twenty other departmental bureaus. He then took a position as Assistant Director (1940-1941) in the Office of Foreign Agricultural Relations and was responsible for USDA participation in agricultural programs in the Western Hemisphere.

In 1941, Norman A. Rockefeller, Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, appointed Dr. Bressman to be Director (1941-1942) of the newly formed Agricultural Division in the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs. The primary goal of this job was to establish the Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences (now the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture or IICA) which was subsequently headquartered in Turrialba, Costa Rica. Dr. Bressman served as the first Director (1942-1946) of the Institute.

After many years of national and international service, Dr. Bressman returned to Iowa and joined his father-in-law in the banking business. Upon his father-in-law’s death in 1956, Dr. Bressman became president of the Moorhead State Bank, a position he held for the rest of his life.

He married Leone Anita Moorhead on September 1, 1921, and together they had two children: Donna Ann and Charles Moorhead. Dr. Bressman died on January 3, 1985.

Collection Description

The collection (1922-1988, n.d.) contains articles, an oral history, reports, and writings by and about Dr. Earl N. Bressman. The articles include published materials related to Dr. Bressman’s research in plant genetics and breeding. Transcripts of an oral history interview with Dr. Bressman conducted by Douglas Helms of the Soil Conservation Service, USDA, covers Dr. Bressman’s childhood, highlights of his career in both education and government, and his relationship with Henry A. Wallace.

The collection also contains material related to Dr. Bressman’s government employment. Reports and news clippings from the Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences, of which he was the first director, are available. Of particular interest are the two diaries included in the collection. Both diaries date from Bressman's time working in the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs. The daily diary documents official meetings and planning for the Institute. The “rubber diary” was started at the request of Vice President Wallace and documents the United States government’s efforts to investigate and secure a stable source of rubber prior to its engagement in World War II.

Organization

The collection is organized with biographical information filed first and alphabetically thereafter.

Container list

Box	Folder	Title	Dates
1	1	Biographical information	1930-1982, n.d.
1	2	Article: “Corn Culture”	n.d.
1	3	Article: “Developing New Varieties of Hops”	1931
1	4	Article: “Differences Between Barnyard Grasses and Japanese Millet”	1932
1	5	Article: “Effect of Bunt on Height of Wheat Plants”	1932
1	6	Article: “Environment and Crop Production in Oregon”	1932
1	7	Article: “Fundamentals of Heredity for Breeders”	1937
1	8	Article: “Harvesting and Showing Seed Corn”	1926
1	9	Article: “Inauguration of the Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences”	1943
1	10	Article: “Inheritance in Albit Wheat of Resistance to Bunt, Tilletia Tritici”	1933
1	11	Article: “Inheritance of Sex in Certain Seed Plants”	1933
1	12	Article: “Lolium Infected with Bunt of Wheat”	1932
1	13	Article: “The Present Status of Breeding Varieties of Wheat Resistant to Bunt”	1931
1	14	Article: “The Quest for Rubber” (Statements by Dr. Earl N. Bressman before Senate Special Committee investigating industrial alcohol and synthetic rubber)	1942
1	15	Article: “Rye Infected with Bunt of Wheat”	1931
1	16	Article: “Some Dioecious Plants”	1932
1	17	Article: “Spillman’s Work on Plant Breeding”	1932
1	18	Article: “Susceptibility and Resistance of Wheat Varieties to Bunt”	1932
1	19	Article: “Susceptibility of Markton and Other Varieities of Oats to Covered Smut (Ustilago Levis)”	1931
1	20	Article: “Unproductive Hop Plants and Varieties in Oregon”	1931
1	21	Correspondence	1934-1942
1	22	Correspondence: Carl Hamilton, Iowa State University	1984
1	23	Correspondence: Richard S. Kirkendall, The Henry A. Wallace Professor, Iowa State University	1983
1	24	Daily diary	1941-1943
1	25	Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences: Annual report	1943
1	26	Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences: Annual report	1944
1	27	Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences: Annual report	1945
1	28	Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences: News articles and press release	1938-1965
1	29	Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences: Progress report	1945
1	30	Lists of publications and courses taught	n.d.
1	31	Memorandum of Agreement and brochure for Corn and Corn Growing by Henry A. Wallace and Earl N. Bressman	1923-1949
1	32	Reference materials: Hybrid corn publications and research articles	1937-1939
2	1	Report of the First Corn Improvement Conference held at Chicago, Illinois, December 3, 1937	1938
2	2	Report of the Second Corn Improvement Conference held at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, September 16-17, 1938	1939
2	3	Report of the Subcommittee of the Seed Verification Service of the Department Committee on Seed	1938
2	4	Rubber diary (copy)	1942-1943
2	5	Rubber diary (includes memo to Vice President Henry A. Wallace)	1942-1943
2	6	Soil Conservation Service, USDA: Legislation establishing Soil Conservation Service (copies)	1935
2	7	Soil Conservation Service, USDA: Oral history discussion outline and notes	1982
2	8	Soil Conservation Service, USDA: Oral history interview with Earl N. Bressman (draft transcript) with related correspondence	1982-1984, n.d.
2	9	Soil Conservation Service, USDA: Oral history interview with Earl N. Bressman (transcript) with related correspondence	1982-1988
2	10	Synthetic rubber program: Estimated operating costs	1944
2	11	Teaching, Iowa State College (University): Genetics 130 course syllabus	n.d.
2	12	Teaching, Montana State College (University): Agronomy 305 – Field Crop Improvement, course outline	1922
2	13	Teaching, Oregon State College (University): Agronomy 105 – Genetics, course notes	n.d.
2	14	Tropical Agricultural Research and Training Center (CATIE): Newsletters and publications	1973-1982, n.d.
2	15	Writings (unattributed): American agricultural research and farm policy	n.d.
2	16	Writings (unattributed): Hybrid corn tests and reports	1938, n.d.
2	17	Writings by others on agricultural topics	n.d.
2	18	Writings: “America’s Benefit from War Advance in Preserved Foods”	1942
2	19	Writings: Farm crops	n.d.
2	20	Writings: “New Varieties of Fruit, Garden, and Crop Plants”	n.d.
2	21	Writings: Notes on Henry A. Wallace	n.d.
2	22	Writings: “Pioneer Tests of Corn Varieties”	n.d.
2	23	Writings: “Rural Arts and Crafts”	n.d.
2	24	Writings: “Simple Remedies for Lazy Lawns”	n.d.
2	25	Writings: “Trees in the Prairie States”	n.d.
2	26	Writings: “Yield Plus Needed in Corn Hybrids”	n.d.