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The University of Iowa Libraries

Guide to the George Frederick Kay Papers

Collection Overview
Date Span:1903-1939
Creator:Kay, George Frederick (1873-1943)
Extent:30.00 linear feet.
Collection Number:RG99.0086
Repository:University of Iowa Archives
Summary:University of Iowa professor of geology, 1907-1941. Served concurrently as head of geology, dean of College of Liberal Arts, and state geologist of Iowa during 1911-1934.

George Frederick Kay was born in Ontario, Canada, on September 14, 1873. Mr. Kay served as principal of public schools in Zephyr, Ontario from 1892-1894. He graduated from Owen Sound Collegiate Institute in 1896. He took his B.A. and M.A. at the University of Toronto in 1900 and 1902. Kay married Bethea Hopper on December 26, 1902, and they had three children: George Marshall (1904), Marjorie (1907), and Calvin (1912).
While living in Ontario, Kay was a geologist for the Canadian government. He was assistant professor of geology at the University of Kansas, 1904-1907, before joining the faculty at the State University of Iowa as full professor of geology in 1907. Kay was promoted to head of the department in 1911 and served as geologist for the state of Iowa, 1911-1934. He took his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago in 1914. Dr. Kay was considered an authority on the glacial history of Iowa, and the Pleistocene Epoch in particular. In 1917 he was named dean of the College of Liberal Arts, a position he held until his retirement on September 1, 1941. George F. Kay died July 19, 1943.

This collection includes the professional correspondence and field notes of George F. Kay while serving as state geologist for Iowa, 1911-1934, and as professor and head of the University of Iowa Geology Department, beginning in 1907. Speeches and offprints of articles are also included.

Access: This collection is open for research.

Use: Copyright restrictions may apply; please consult Special Collections staff for further information.

Acquisition: These materials were transferred to the University Archives from the Iowa Geological Survey Bureau in 1998.

Preferred Citation: George Frederick Kay 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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