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Froelich Rainey Director's Office records
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Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives [Contact Us]3260 South Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104-6324
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
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Froelich G. Rainey was born in Black River Falls, Wisconsin in 1907 and raised on a cattle ranch in Montana. He spent time as a cowboy in his youth and attended the local schools. For his college experience he chose the University of Chicago, graduating in 1929 with a B.A. in English. Rainey spent the next year at the American School in France studying Pre-Historic Archaeology. He completed his graduate wotk at Yale University attaining a Ph.D. in Anthropology in 1935.
Rainey taught for a year at the University of Puerto Rico and in 1935 began a six year teaching stay at University of Alaska. While in Alaska, he conducted research which resulted in evidence that humans had migrated from Russia to Alaska centuries ago.
Rainey gained museum experience as an Assistant in Archaeology at the Peabody Museum at Harvard and as a representative for Financial Grants in Archaeology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
During WWII, Rainey headed a mission in Ecuador and was responsible for the interception of a shipment of tree bark destined for Germany to be used for the manufacture of quinine. This resulted in the use of the drug by the U.S. Forces.
Rainey served as a Foreign Service Officer for the U.S. State Department in 1944-45 and as a consultant to the Department from 1948 to 1952. In 1949 he was the U.S. Representative to the International Rhine Commission and was a member of the Foreign Policy Research Institute in 1954.
As an Archaeologist, Rainey participated in expeditions in Alaska, the West Indies and in Italy.
Rainey was appointed Director of the University Museum in 1947 and maintained the position until his retirement in 1976. He also served as a Professor of Anthropology at the University. Among his many accomplishments as Director, Rainey is responsible for the institution of Expedition Magazine. He developed and hosted the Television show "What in the World?" which ran either locally or nationally for a total of fifteen years. In 1964, he served as acontributor to the show "Sunday" on NBC reporting the "archaeology news."
After his retirement, Froelich Rainey directed the Land Preservation Fund for the Nature Conservancy in 1976 and 1977. He relocated to Cornwall, England where he continued writing. He passed away in 1992.
Among Rainey's many publications is his autobiography
Reflections of a Digger: 50 years of World Archaeology.Froelich G. Rainey was born in Black River Falls, Wisconsin in 1907 and raised on a cattle ranch in Montana. He spent time as a cowboy in his youth and attended the local schools. For his college experience he chose the University of Chicago, graduating in 1929 with a B.A. in English. Rainey spent the next year at the American School in France studying Pre-Historic Archaeology. He completed his graduate wotk at Yale University attaining a Ph.D. in Anthropology in 1935.
Rainey was appointed Director of the University Museum in 1947 and maintained the position until his retirement in 1976. He also served as a Professor of Anthropology at the University. Among his many accomplishments as Director, Rainey is responsible for the institution of Expedition Magazine. He developed and hosted the Television show "What in the World?" which ran either locally or nationally for a total of fifteen years. In 1964, he served as acontributor to the show "Sunday" on NBC reporting the "archaeology news."
The Froelich Rainey Administrative records consist of sixty-four archival boxes of correspondence divided into two series; alphabetical and chronological. The majority of the letters are in the Alphabetical files with the chronological files reflecting the time from February 1968 to November 1969.
CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA MUSEUM
University Archaeological Association (1889–1899) First President Joseph Leidy President William Pepper, Jr. 1893–1897
Board of Managers, Department of Archaeology and Palaeontology / Free Museum of Science and Art President Charlemagne Tower, Jr. elected Jan 14, 1892 resigned Oct 9, 1894 President William Pepper, Jr. elected Oct 9, 1894 died Aug 3, 1898 President Daniel Baugh acting Aug 3, 1898 elected Jun 22, 1899 President Justus C. Strawbridge elected Jan 19, 1901 resigned 1903 President Sara Yorke Stevenson elected Jan 15, 1904 resigned Feb 24, 1905 President Samuel F. Houston acting Mar 17, 1905 elected Jan 19, 1906 1910
Directors of the University of Pennsylvania Museum Stewart Culin Jun 1, 1892–Jun 28, 1899 George Byron Gordon Feb 1, 1910–Jan 30, 1927 Jane M. McHugh (Acting) 1927–1929 Horace H. F. Jayne 1929–1940 George C. Vaillant 1941–1945 Marian Angell Godfrey (Acting) 1945–1947 Froelich G. Rainey 1947–1976 James B. Pritchard (Acting) 1976–1977 Martin Biddle 1977–1981 Robert H. Dyson (Acting) 1981-1982 Robert H. Dyson 1982–1994 Jeremy A. Sabloff 1994–2004 Richard M. Leventhal 2004-2006 Jeremy A. Sabloff (Interim) 2006-2007 Richard Hodges 2007-2012 Julian Siggers 2012-
People
- Johnson, Eldridge Reeves, b. 1867-d. 1945
- Kidder, Alfred Vincent, 1885-1963
- Kissinger, Henry, b. 1923-
- Madeira, Percy C., Jr., 1889-1967
- Pritchard, James B. (James Bennett), 1909-1997
- Rainey, Froelich, Director of the University Museum
- Trik, Aubrey, 1910-1968
- Tuthill, John W., 1910-1996
- Vaillant, George C., b.1901-d.1945
- Wooley, C. Leonard, Sir, b. 1880-d.1960
Subject
Place
- Publisher
- University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives
- Finding Aid Author
- Finding aid prepared by Jody Rodgers
- Finding Aid Date
- 3/1/2015