Fonds 011 - Frederick A. Urquhart fonds

Identity area

Reference code

UTSC 011

Title

Frederick A. Urquhart fonds

Date(s)

  • 1921-1983 (Creation)

Level of description

Fonds

Extent and medium

2 cm of textual records.
2 books.

Context area

Name of creator

(1911-2002)

Biographical history

Fredrick (Fred) Albert Urquhart was a professor of zoology at the University of Toronto and the University of Toronto Scarborough. Born in Toronto in 1911, Urquhart studied biology at the University of Toronto, completing an MA in 1937 and a PhD in 1940. His first attempt at tagging monarchs, in 1937, met with limited success, but led to the development of the Alar Tagging Method in the 1940s. In 1945, he married Norah Patterson, who would become a partner in his research endeavours. He was appointed assistant director of zoology at the Royal Ontario Museum in 1945, becoming director in 1949; at the same time, he was appointed as an assistant professor in zoology at the University of Toronto. Urquhart took on full professorship in 1963. In 1966, he spearheaded a program in zoology at Scarborough College, a position that he held until his retirement in 1977. In 1975, two member of Urquhart’s extensive network of monarch trackers, Ken and Cathy Brugger, discovered millions of monarch butterflies in the Neovolcanic Plateau in Mexico, many of them tagged, proving that monarchs did indeed travel thousands of kilometres to breed. Urquhart and his wife were able to visit Mexico in 1976 to see the monarchs firsthand. An internationally renowned entomologist, Urquhart published both books and articles on the migratory patterns of monarch butterflies. He died in 2002.

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

The 2005-01 accession was deposited by Urquhart's son Doug Urquhart.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

The fonds contains a small number of personal items belonging to Frederick A. Urquhart. Personal items include a letter and two books.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Due to the small amount of material in the collection, no further arrangement has been carried out beyond the collection level.

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Conditions governing reproduction

Material is subject to the Copyright Act.

Language of material

Script of material

Language and script notes

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

Box list available.

Generated finding aid

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Notes area

Note

Citation of the material should include the following elements:

University of Toronto Scarborough Library, Archives & Special Collections, Frederick A. Urquhart fonds, Series Name - Box # File # - Item # (if applicable).

Alternative identifier(s)

Accession

2005-01

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Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

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Dates of creation revision deletion

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Accession area

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