Joseph Francis Charles Rock Papers

Collection

Identifier: MS0351

Staff Only

Introduction

The Joseph Francis Charles Rock Papers span the year 1928. The collection is a quarter of a linear foot and is housed in one box. The collection was transferred to the National Agricultural Library Special Collections from the Arnold Arboretum in 2002. The materials are in good condition and there are no use restrictions on the materials. The collection was arranged and described by Amber Thiele, Chesapeake Information and Research Library Alliance Fellow in 2006.

Scope and Contents

Joseph Francis Charles Rock was a botanist, explorer, linguist, and a correspondent for National Geographic Magazine, who focused his work on collecting plants and studying the Nakhi language and culture in China. Rock’s 1927-1930 expedition in Southwest China and Tibet was sponsored by the National Geographic Society. He explored the following areas during the expedition: Muli; Yongning; Szechuan Province; Konka Risumgongba Range; Nv-lv-k’ö, Yünnan; Kangting; Minya Konka; Kulu; Likiang; Li-chiang Snow Range; and the Yalung, Mekong, Salwin, and Yangtze River trenches.

This collection covers part of the China-Tibet expedition in 1928, with the bulk dates spanning from May-August 1928. The collection includes a bibliofilm copy of his specimen notes from China. Bibliofilm is a type of microfilm used to photograph books. E.H. Walker, from the Smithsonian Institution (where Rock had deposited the specimens), requested the bibliofilm copy on March 7, 1936. The quarter of a linear foot of materials are in good condition and do not have any use restrictions. The series is arranged into one series, Specimen Notes.

Harvard University Herbaria currently holds the actual specimens that are described in the notes. Some of the specimens have been digitized and can be viewed on the Internet at http://www.huh.harvard.edu/databases/cms/rock-types.html. Rock wrote several articles, for National Geographic Magazine, that describe the expedition’s cultural aspects, which are listed in the Bibliography.

Dates

Creation: 1928

Conditions Governing Access

Contact Special Collections for access.

Biographical Sketch

Joseph F. (Joseph Francis Charles) Rock (1884-1962) was a plant explorer, botanist, linguist, and correspondent for National Geographic Magazine. He is famous for his study of the Nakhi (Naxi) language and his works on Hawaiian plants.

January 13, 1884 Born in Vienna, Austria as Josef Franz Karl Rock to Franz Seraph Rock and Franciska (Hofer) Rock

1897 Started to teach himself Chinese

1902 Graduated Vienna Schoten Gymnasium, secondary school

July 1904 Departed Ostend, Belgium for Austria for his father’s funeral before traveling to England, where he was diagnosed with tuberculosis

September 9, 1905 Arrived in New York and worked as a dish washer, after working as a cabin steward on the SS Zeeland from Antwerp

September 1906 Sailed to Vera Cruz, Mexico and stayed for two months

1906-1907 Moved to San Antonio, Texas for the winter

1907 Moved to Waco, Texas and studied English at Baylor University

October 1907-1920 Moved to Honolulu, Hawaii

1907 Taught Latin and natural history in Mills School (later Mid-Pacific Institute), a secondary school, in Honolulu

September 1908 Resigned his teaching job due to ill health and went on a botany trip with Charles N. Forbes to Oahu, Hawaii

October 1908 Joined the Division of Forestry, Board of Commissioners of Agriculture and Forestry, Territory of Hawaii as botanical collector where he established a herbarium

1909 Won a gold medal for his exhibit on the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific expedition and Forbes named a new species, rockii, in Rock’s honor

September 2, 1911-1920 Transferred to the College of Hawaii as a botanist and was in charge of the herbarium, on indefinite loan from the Division of Forestry

1911-1921 Served as honorary consulting botanist for the Division of Forestry and published over 45 studies in botany and forestry

1913 Anton Heimerl established the genus Rokia to honor Rock

May 1913 Became a naturalized citizen of the United States using his Americanized name, Joseph Francis Charles Rock

June 1913 Went on the Bishop Museum expedition to Palmyra Island with C. Montague Cooke to collect shells and plants

September 1913-1914 Took a leave of absence to travel around the world to collect seeds and plants to reforest Hawaii

1914 Placed in charge of the Buildings and Grounds Faculty Committee and planted a botanical garden at the College of Hawaii

1916 Traveled to the Philippines, Singapore, and Java with funding from the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association

1917 Returned to California for field work

1919 Appointed professor of systematic botany at the College of Hawaii and explored Siam, Malaya, and Java

1920 Resigned from the College of Hawaii after the herbarium was transferred to the Bishop Museum

May 25, 1920 Moved back to the continental United States

1920 Went on expeditions to Indochina, Siam, Burma, and India searching for chaulmoogra seeds (Hydno-carpus kurzii), used to treat leprosy, for the Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction, Bureau of Plant Industry, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

1922 Moved to the village of Nguluko (now Yuhu Jade Lake), Likiang (now Lijiang or Li-chiang), Yünnan Providence of China where the Nakhi (Naxi) villagers live

1922-1935 Wrote articles and took photographs for National Geographic

February 1923-1935 National Geographic Society started sponsoring Rock’s travels. He donated over 60,000 herbarium specimens, 1,600 birds, and 60 mammals that he collected to the United States National Museum

1924 Identified specimens he sent to the United States National Museum during the summer, while J.H. Riley studied the bird skins and named two new species after Rock, including Ithaginis rocki

1924-1927 Led Harvard University’s (Arnold Arboretum) expedition to West China and Tibet, there he acquired over 20,000 plant specimens and over 1,000 bird skins 1925 Awarded honorary life membership to the National Geographic Society

November 20, 1927-1930 Led the National Geographic Society’s Southwest China-Tibet expedition collecting plant specimens and seeds in addition to 1,700 birds, which were given to the United States National Museum

1930 Awarded an honorary doctor of law degree from Baylor University

1930-1932 Explored China to collect 1,800 bird skins for the Museum of Comparative Zoology

1932-1933 University of California Botanical Garden underwrote his research

1935 Evacuated his library to Indochina, due to violent conflicts between nationalists and communists

1937 Refused to evacuate with the Japanese invasion of China

1938 Evacuated his library to Indochina again, because the Japanese bombed Kumming and Rock became a corresponding member of the Ecole Francaise d’Extreme Orient, Hanoi

1938-1940 Held the position of research professor in Chinese culture at the University of Hawaii

1940 Led the United States National Museum’s expedition to Annam and Cambodia

1941 Japanese bombs destroyed his printing plates for four volumes in Shanghai

1944-March 1945 Evacuated by a plane from India to the United States and worked as an expert consultant, geographic specialist, and research analyst for the United States Army Map Service drawing maps of China

1944 Japanese sunk the ship, S.S. Richard Hovey, carrying 14 years of Rock’s research materials on the religious texts of the Nakhi

1945-1950 Sold original Nakhi manuscripts to the Harvard-Yenching Institute (now Harvard-Yenching Library) and became their research fellow

September 1946 Returned to Likiang, China with Harvard University’s support

1948 Returned briefly to the United States to treat an illness and was awarded the Stanislaus Julien Award of the Institut des Belles Lettres by the Academie Francaise, Paris

August 1949 Fled Likiang and never returned to China, because of bandits and the communists proclaimed him a public enemy

1950s Sold many of his collections to museums, libraries, and universities

1950-1952 Traveled between England and India

1953 Visited Hawaii and had prints made of William Hillebrand’s Hawaiian plants

1954 Appointed permanent honorary research associate at the University of Washington’s Far East & Russian Institute and awarded the gold medal by the American Rhododendron Society

1955-1956 Worked as a botanist on Kauai

1955-1957 Worked as a botanist and on a Nakhi language dictionary in Hawaii

December 1955 Appointed an honorary associate in botany by the Bishop Museum

1957-1962 Lived with Lester Marks and his wife in Nuuanu Valley, Honolulu

1959 Traveled to South America

1961 Traveled with Marks to Japan, Hong Kong, and India

April 1962 Awarded a honorary doctor of science degree, honoris causa, by the University of Hawaii and worked as a professor of Oriental studies

1962 Classified Nakhi manuscripts and arranged printing of his Nakhi dictionary in Europe

1962-1963 Appointed honorary chairman of the University of Hawaii’s Campus Beautification and Landscaping Faculty Committee

December 5, 1962 Died of a heart attack in Honolulu, Hawaii

Total Size of Collection

1 boxes (1 box, 4.5 x 8.75 x 5.75)

0.25 Linear Feet (1 box)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Content Description

The Joseph Francis Charles Rock Papers contain a bibliofilm (microfilm photograph) of Rock's specimen notebook from 1928. The notes list plant specimens by number, followed by a description of the specimen and its location or altitude. The actual specimens are housed at the Harvard University Herbaria.