NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY IN TEXAS FROM THE ARCHIVES OF THE DEGOLYER LIBRARY, SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY

The rich history of Earth sciences in Texas is documented in libraries across the state. Housed in the DeGolyer Library Archives at Southern Methodist University are three significant collections pertaining to Jacob Boll, Robert T. Hill, and Everett DeGolyer. Jacob Boll is the scientific discoverer of fossils in the Texas Permian Redbeds, and through him E.D. Cope published upon numerous remains, including Eryops whose vertebrae grace the emblem of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. Robert T. Hill is known as the father of Texas geology. He was also a correspondent with E.D. Cope as recorded in letters, including those that reflect Cope’s relationship with Hill and provide a perspective on the U.S. Geological Survey and on animosity with O.C. Marsh. Everett DeGolyer was not a vertebrate paleontologist, but he sponsored the first conference on continental drift held in the US. That he appreciated past life is demonstrated by the discovery of a Charles R. Knight painting depicting Eoanthropus among his archives, as well as a Knight study of Dimetrodon.