Fonds SC95 - W.E. Swinton fonds

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

W.E. Swinton fonds

General material designation

  • Textual record

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Level of description

Fonds

Reference code

CA ON00259 SC95

Edition area

Edition statement

Edition statement of responsibility

Class of material specific details area

Statement of scale (cartographic)

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Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • 1900-1994 (Creation)
    Creator
    Swinton, W.E. (William Elgin)

Physical description area

Physical description

FONDS CURRENTLY UNDER REDESCRIPTION. The exact extent of the fonds is being determined.

Publisher's series area

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Archival description area

Name of creator

(1900-1994)

Biographical history

William Elgin Swinton was born on September 30, 1900, in Kirkcaldy, Scotland to William Wilson Swinton and Rachel Cargill. He had one younger sister, Mary Swinton. He received his early education in Dundee, Scotland and graduated in 1922 from the University of Glasgow with a BSc. Swinton began his career in 1922 as an assistant in the geology department at the British Museum and was later appointed as a paleontologist and curator of fossil amphibians, reptiles and birds. During his career at the British Museum, Swinton gained an international reputation as an authority on dinosaurs and had many publications on the topic, including The Dinosaurs (1934).

In 1961 Swinton left Britain to become Head of the Life Sciences Division at the Royal Ontario Museum, combined with a post of professor of zoology in the Departments of Zoology and Geological Science at the University of Toronto. On July 1, 1963, Swinton was appointed Director of the ROM. After three years, Swinton was required to retire from his post due to a new University regulation that fixed retirement for administrators at the age of 65.

Upon leaving the ROM, Swinton resumed his scholarly activities as a professor at Massey College, University of Toronto. His last appointment was as a professor at Queen’s University in Kingston until 1979.

Swinton died in Toronto, Ontario in 1994, at 93 years old.

Custodial history

The exact year of the first donation of Swinton's records is unknown, though it is certain that the material was in the archives' holdings by 2005 when a preliminary listing of material and biographical sketch was written. The fonds was again inventoried through a file listing in 2010, and again in 2015. It is unknown if Swinton donated these materials himself, or if they were donated by another individual after Swinton's death in 1994.

A second donation (Accession 2022-018) of material was donated to the ROM in 2022. The materials were in the custody of Swinton until his death in 1994, at which point the material's custody was transferred to Miss Annemarie Liebeck, as the executor of Swinton's estate. Liebieck died in 2000, and the materials were then held by the executor of Liebeck's estate until their rediscovery and donation to the ROM in 2022.

Scope and content

Fonds consists of logbooks, subject files, and correspondence used by Swinton during his years of teaching. Other files include photographs and textual files related to Swinton’s early life in Britain, including his appointments at the British Museum, and his departure as Director of the ROM in 1966.

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

Arrangement

FONDS CURRENTLY UNDER DESCRIPTION.

Language of material

    Script of material

      Location of originals

      Availability of other formats

      Restrictions on access

      Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

      Finding aids

      Associated materials

      Related materials

      Accruals

      No further accruals are expected.

      Accompanying material

      Copies of Swinton's publications, The Dinosaurs and Fossil Amphibians, Reptiles and Birds can be found in the Royal Ontario Museum Library and Archives' library catalogue and archives.

      Alternative identifier(s)

      Accession

      2022-018

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      Description record identifier

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      Dates of creation, revision and deletion

      2022 E. Thomas (Creation)
      2/13/2023 E.Thomas (Arrangement note added.)
      2/28/2023 E. Thomas (Accession identifier added.)

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          Accession area