| Date Span: | 1890-1937 |
| Creator: | Shimek, Bohumil (1861-1937) |
| Extent: | 5.50 linear feet. |
| Collection Number: | RG99.0036 |
| Repository: | University of Iowa Archives |
| Summary: | University of Iowa professor of botany. founder of the Iowa Lakeside Biological Laboratory and the university herbarium. His papers include field notes pertaining to geology and flora of many Iowa counties. |
Bohumil Shimek was born in Shueyville, Iowa, on June 25, 1861. His parents emigrated from Bohemia to the United States for political reasons in 1856. Shimek's mother died when he was five years old, and he grew up poor in Iowa City. In 1883, Shimek received his undergraduate degree in civil engineering at the State University of Iowa and worked in Iowa City as a surveyor after graduation. He taught at Iowa City High School from 1885 to 1888, then taught zoology at the University of Nebraska for two years.
Thomas H. Macbride, head of the SUI Botany Department in 1890, lured Shimek back to Iowa City to instruct botany classes. In 1902, he took his masters degree at SUI. Shimek helped establish the Lakeside Biological Laboratory in 1908, and served as curator of the herbarium and chairman of the department. He traveled the state of Iowa to collect botanical and geological samples for his research and for deposit at the University. Shimek made many contributions in the area of conservation, as well as botany, geology, and zoology. Bohumil Shimek died January 30, 1937.
Alternate Extent Statement: Photographs: Box 4
Access: This collection is open for research.
Use: Copyright restrictions may apply; please consult Special Collections staff for further information.
Acquisition: The Papers of Bohumil Shimek were transferred to the University Archives from the Dept. of Geosciences. The photographs in box 4 were donated as Accession 2005-87 by David A. Konvalinka. The field notes comprising boxes 5-7 were received as Accession 2010-62 from the Dept. of Biology.
Preferred Citation: Bohumil Shimek Papers, The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City, Iowa.
| Repository: | University of Iowa Archives |
| Address: | 100 Main Library University of Iowa Libraries Iowa City, IA 52242 |
| Phone: | 319-335-5921 |
| Curator: | David McCartney |
| Email: | david-mccartney@uiowa.edu |
| Website: | http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/spec-coll/archives |
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