James A. Duke Papers

Collection

Identifier: MS0352

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The James A. Duke Papers consist of notes, drafts of articles, published articles, reprints, statistical data, reports, and photographs. Materials document the uses of common roots, herbs, fruits, vegetables, plants, and leaves to prevent or even cure illnesses. Duke analyzes and discusses the different types of chemical composition of the roots, herbs, fruits, vegetables, plants and leaves. He also provides details about his trips to various places including where he lived with different ethnic groups and how these groups used their surrounding forest products to create “folk” remedies or herbal medicines. Besides studying these ethnic groups’ forest dependency, Duke writes about different everyday foods and how they can prove to be advantageous or disadvantageous to healthy living.

Dates

Creation: 1948-1994

Conditions Governing Access

Contact Special Collections for access.

Biographical Sketch

Dr. James A. "Jim" Duke (1929-2017) was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of North Carolina. He studied neotropical ethnobotany at Washington University and the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis, Missouri. From 1963 to 1965, he was an ecologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), conducting ecological and ethnobotanical studies in Panama and Colombia. During this time, he lived among various ethnic groups and observed their dependence on forest resources.

From 1966 to 1968, Duke lived in Panama. While there, he worked on an encyclopedia of economic plants, and collaborated with the National Cancer Institute on their AIDS and cancer screening program. In 1971, he rejoined USDA and worked on assignments relating to crop diversification, energy plant studies, and medicinal plants in developing countries. Between 1990 and 1992, Duke was an adviser to the National Institutes of Health's Designer Food Program. He retired from USDA on September 30, 1995.

Biographical / Historical

1929: Born in Birmingham, Alabama

1955: Graduated with a master’s degree in botany from the University of North Carolina

1955: Served in the United States Army at Fort Dietrick, Maryland, where he worked on projects focused on developing protection against biological warfare agents

1961: Completed his Ph.D. in botany at the University of North Carolina. Joined a research expedition to Mexico to collect specimens for a National Science Foundation-funded study of carrot family (Umbelliferae) chromosomes. Undertook postdoctoral studies in neotropical ethnobotany at the Missouri Botanical Garden, identifying medicinal plants from Panama and Peru.

1963: Joined the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service in Beltsville, Maryland as an ecologist

1965: Joined Batelle Columbus Laboratories, where he researched ecology and ethnobotany in Panama and Colombia

1971: Re-joined USDA, conducting research in the areas of crop diversification, medicinal plants, and energy plant studies in developing countries. During his career, he developed the Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases, which continue to be hosted online by the USDA.

1995: Retired from USDA

Total Size of Collection

10 records_box

4 boxes (2 boxes, 19 x 15 x 3; 2 boxes, 19 x 14 x 3)

19 Linear Feet (14 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Content Description

The James A. Duke Papers consist of notes, drafts of articles, published articles, reprints, statistical data, reports, and photographs. Materials document the uses of common roots, herbs, fruits, vegetables, plants, and leaves to prevent or treat illnesses. Included are analyses of the chemical composition of plant materials. There are also notes about Duke's travels to various countries, and his observations of indigenous people and their uses of forest products in folk remedies or herbal medicines. Duke's writings also discuss common foods and their effects on healthy living.