Walter Kiener, Botany Papers
Title: Walter Kiener,
Botany Papers
Creator: Kiener, Walter Bigler,
1894-1959
Dates: 1848-1959 bulk 1912-1959
Quantity: 126 boxes (47 linear
feet)
Collection Number: RG 12-07-16
Language: English, German, French, and Spanish
Restrictions: None
Access and Use: For information on access or copyright, please see our guidelines
or email archives@unl.edu.
Historical Records Statement: Please see our statement on historical records and materials.
Preferred Citation: Walter Kiener, Botany Papers (RG 12-07-16). Archives & Special Collections,
University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries.
Biography:
Walter Bigler Kiener was born on 18 October 1894, in Bern, Switzerland. He attended
school until the age of 15, when he began work as an apprentice to his father, a
sausage makerKiener attended night classes to continue his education.
During World War I, Kiener served in the Swiss Citizen Army. In November of 1922,
Kiener left Switzerland and his family for United States. After seven months in New
York, Kiener moved to Denver, where he became a foreman at a small sausage-making
plant. In Denver, Kiener took classes in English and Citizenship and spent time
climbing in the Rocky Mountains.
Kiener entered the University of Nebraska in the fall of 1925 as an adult special
student. He earned his A.B. degree in 1930 and his master's degree in 1931. He
became a United States citizen in 1929. Kiener was elected to Sigma Xi in 1931. His
master's thesis was entitled On the Vegetation of an Isolated
Peak in the Rocky Mountains. Kiener continued his work at the University
of Nebraska and completed his doctoral dissertation, Sociological Studies of the Alpine Vegetation on Longs Peak, in April of
1939. He received his Ph.D. in 1940.
After graduating, Kiener was hired by the University of Nebraska where he held the
following positions over time: Assistant in Botany (1930-1940); Ecologist, UNL
Conservation and Survey Division (1941-1943); and Biologist, State of Nebraska Game,
Forestation, and Parks Commission, (1943-1955). He eventually became the Chief
Biologist for the Commission and established the Commission's Fisheries Research
Department.
Kiener established an extensive personal herbarium of lichen and bryophyte specimens
that eventually numbered well over 50,000. Several species of plants were named
after Kiener: Pleuridum kieneri; P. exsertum; Splachnobryum kieneri; and Chara
kieneri. Today the entire Kiener plant collection is housed within the Charles E.
Bessey Herbarium of the University of Nebraska State Museum's Botany Division.
Kiener died on 24 August 1959, at Lincoln General Hospital, after a four-year battle
with pancreatic cancer.
Scope and Content:
The papers consist of Kiener's personal and professional papers arranged into 11
series and include oversize materials. The series include Personal Effects,
Correspondence, Kiener's Writings, Research Files, Maps, Writings about Kiener,
Newspapers, Negatives and Photographs, Postcards, and Articles and Reprints. Work on
the Kiener papers included the incorporation of three smaller collections into a
single collection. Kiener organized his research files alphabetically and this
original arrangement was maintained throughout the materials. The final collection
consists of materials from the Nebraska State Museum and the Archives & Special
Collections, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries.
Kiener's personal effects contain journals, diaries, and other more intimate items.
The correspondence series documents Kiener's professional and personal life, mostly
from the 1920s to the 1950s. Kiener's writings include published and unpublished
works and research done for publications. The bulk of the collection is comprised of
Kiener's research files. These materials document his extensive lichen and botany
research, Nebraska and Colorado wildlife, mountaineering, and his other interests.
Kiener also kept a collection of maps from North and South America, Switzerland, and
areas of local interest in Nebraska and Colorado. The writings about Kiener include
articles published on his research or about plants named after him, newspaper
articles about him before and after his death, and a book about the history of Longs
Peak that mentions the Agnes Vaille tragedy and his climbing accomplishments. Also
included is a short article about him written by Mari Sandoz.
Kiener was an accomplished amateur photographer. The photograph collection includes
photographs and negatives of his lichen and botany research, the Rocky Mountains,
Nebraska and Colorado wildlife and vegetation, and friends and family.
Subjects:
Elias, M.K.
Kiener, Walter Bigler, 1894-1959
Sayre, Geneva
Vaille, Agnes
Alpine vegetation
Botany
Fisheries
Forests and Forestry -- Colorado
Lichens
Mountaineering
Mountain plants -- Colorado -- Longs Peak
Mountains
Natural history -- Colorado
Plant communities -- Colorado -- Longs Peak
Riccia
Swiss Colony
Vegetation classification -- Rocky Mountains
Region
Colorado
Longs Peak (Colo.)
Nebraska
Rocky Mountain National Park
Switzerland
Twin Sisters (Colo.)
Nebraska Game, Forestation, and Parks
Commission
Swiss Alpine Club
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Series Description:
Series 1: Personal Effects, Box 1-3Kiener's personal effects contain journals, diaries and field notes, academic
materials compiled during his time at the University of Nebraska, his
father's will, Swiss military documents, his certification as a meat
butcher, awards and honors, the disposition of his estate, and other
personal items.
Series 2: Correspondence, Box 4-8The correspondence consists of personal and professional letters in English
and German. The bulk of the correspondence is dated between 1925-1955.
Kiener's personal correspondence consists of letters from acquaintances made
while a ranger and mountain guide on the Longs Peak and Twin Sisters
mountain ranges, holiday greetings, evidence of a romance with a woman named
Margaret(?) and of its ultimate demise (Personal 1934-1935), and letters
from family and friends. His professional correspondence covers his lichen
studies, alpine vegetation, Colorado vegetation, and Nebraska vegetation, as
well as his memberships in professional organizations. Both the personal and
professional correspondence is arranged by year, then alphabetically by last
name, and then alphabetically by topic.
Series 3: Articles and Publictions, Box 9-10The articles and publications are those created by Kiener. The publications
illustrate his research and include drafts and the final version of his
Ph.D. dissertation and various topics, such as lichen, mountain climbing,
birds, Longs Peak, botanical explorations, and the Nebraska landscape.
Series 4: Research Files, Box 11-55Kiener's research files make up the bulk of the collection and are
representative of his work on lichen studies, alpine vegetation studies,
mountaineering, Colorado, the Nebraska State Game, Forestation and Parks
Commission, Nebraska fisheries and lakes; Nebraska counties, and
Switzerland. The files also include research conducted for his thesis and
dissertation. Some of the folder titles include a notation, "from binder, " which means that the folder
title is taken directly from the information on a binder that originally
housed the material.
Series 5: Maps, Box 56-57The map collection contains regular and over-sized maps of Colorado,
Nebraska, the United States, Europe, and Switzerland. They are arranged by
place names in North America and then place names in Europe.
Series 6: Articles on Keiner, Box 57, Folder 37-50The writings about Kiener consist of journal and newspaper articles on his
scientific studies, lichen research, mountaineering, and the Agnes Vaille
tragedy. Included is a short article written by Mari Sandoz, entitled, "Climber of Longs Peak."
Series 7: Newspapers and Newspaper Clippings, Box 57, Folder 51-58The newspaper series contains clippings and excerpts from newspapers
collected by Kiener.
Series 8: Negatives and Photographs, Box 58-94The negatives include contain cellulose and glass plate negatives, mostly of
scientific and professional subject matter. Their are cellulose negatives,
glass plate negatives, and lantern slides. The photo indexes included have
numbers and information on some of the photos in the collection. Among the
photographs in the collection are images of Jules Sandoz in the Nebraska
Sandhills. The photographs are not numbered, but but they do correspond with
some photos in the Sandhills index. There are several photograph albums and
formal portraits in this series. The subjects of the negatives and
photograph collection are Colorado mountains and vegetation, Nebraska
wildlife and vegetation, lichens and other botanical specimens, the
University of Nebraska, Switzerland, and family and friends. Kiener kept
many of his photographs in alphabetical order and that system has been
maintained. Some photographs in the collection are stamped with "photo by Walter Kiener" on the back.
Photographs taken by other individuals are marked as such, including photos
of plant fossils taken by M.K. Elias. Many of the photographs do not provide
photographer or date information but may be attributed to Keiner. Kiener
kept many photographic prints with the original negative.
Series 9: Postcards, Box 95The postcards are those collected by Keiner. The subjects include
Switzerland, Colorado, Twin Sisters Lookout, the University of Nebraska
Botany Department, mountains, religion, wildlife, and selected photo
postcards of friends and family.
Series 10: Articles and Reprints, Box 96-1265The articles and reprints are those collected by Keiner. They are arranged by
author last name and document the subjects Keiner focused on in his
research.
Series 11: Oversize Materials, Folders 1-12 oversize box, Folders 13-17 map
caseThe Oversize series consists of maps, publications, and prints or pictures
collected by Kiener.
Container List:
Please contact the Archives & Specials Collections for a container
list or for more information on this collection.
Related Material and Resources: Fuenning, S.I. "Walter Bigler Kiener (1894-1959)." The Bryologist. Vol. 63, 1960, pg. 64-66.Kiener, Walter. On the Vegetation of an Isolated Peak in the
Rocky mountains. Thesis (M.S.)--University of Nebraska (Lincoln campus),
1931______________. Sociological Studies of the Alpine Vegetation
on Longs Peak Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska (Lincoln campus),
1939Selected letters from Kiener to Geneva Sayre are located at the Farlow Reference Library of Cryptogamic Botany at Harvard
University.There are also letters from Kiener in the Archives of the Gray
Herbarium at Harvard University. |