Frank Spencer Papers
name: label: Creator
content: Spencer, Frank, 1941-1999
label: Creator
content: Langham, Ian, 1942-1984
label: Names
content: Dawson, Charles, 1864-1916
label: Names
content: Hrdlička, Aleš, 1869-1943
label: Names
content: Hrdlička, Aleš, 1869-1943
label: Names
content: Keith, Arthur, Sir, 1866-1955
place: label: Place
content: Piltdown (England) -- early man site
topic: label: Topic
content: Physical anthropology -- History
label: Topic
content: Physical anthropology -- frauds
label: Topic
content: Crohn's disease
label: Topic
content: Piltdown forgery
label: Topic
content: anthropometry
label: Topic
content: Language and languages -- Documentation
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Donated in 2002 by Elena Peters-Spencer, wife of Frank Spencer.
creator: label: Creator
content: Spencer, Frank, 1941-1999
label: Creator
content: Langham, Ian, 1942-1984
setName: label: See more items in
content: Frank Spencer Papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: Frank Spencer was a historian of biological anthropology who began his career as a medical laboratory technician. His papers include  correspondence, manuscripts, notes, research files, teaching materials, photographs, and audiotapes. Spencer's research on the Piltdown hoax as well as the Piltdown research of Ian Langham, whose work Spencer continued after his death in 1984, and Spencer's research on the life and career of Aleš Hrdlička for his dissertation are both represented in the collection.
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: Frank Spencer was born in Chatham, England, on May 1, 1941. Best known as a historian of biological anthropology and for his book Piltdown: A Scientific Forgery (1990), Spencer began his career as a medical laboratory technician, publishing two books on medical laboratory procedures in 1970 and 1972. He immigrated to Canada, where he earned his BA in anthropology at the University of Windsor in Ontario in 1973. The following year, he enrolled at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, with C. Loring Brace as his advisor. Spencer wrote his dissertation on the life and career of Aleš Hrdlička and was awarded his PhD in biological anthropology in 1979. That same year he joined the faculty of the Department of Anthropology at Queens College as an assistant professor and was soon promoted to department chair in 1984. Over the course of his career, he wrote and edited several books on the history of physical anthropology including A History of Physical Anthropology, 1930-1980 (1992), The Origins of Modern Humans: A World Survey of the Fossil Evidence  (1984), Ecce Homo: An Annotated Bibliographic History of Physical Anthropology (1986), and History of Physical Anthropology: An Encyclopedia (1997). Spencer was also a co-founder and editor of the Physical Anthropology News bulletins. It was his book Piltdown: A Scientific Forgery, however, that garnered him the most attention. In this book, he theorized that the well-respected Sir Arthur Keith master-minded the Piltdown hoax. On May 30, 1999 Frank Spencer died of cancer at the age of 58.

1941 -- Born on May 1 in Chatham, Kent, England

1964 -- Obtained Associate diploma in Clinical Microbiology, [Britain], Institute of Medical Laboratory Sciences

1966 -- Fellowship diploma in Clinical Parasitology

1971 -- Advanced diploma in Clinical Biochemistry & Microbiology, Canadian Society of Medical Laboratory Technology

1973 -- BA (Anthropology) University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada

1974 -- MA (Biological Anthropology) University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

1976-1977 -- Adjunct Lecturer, Dept. of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Windsor

1979 -- PhD, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, "Biological Anthropology, Aleš Hrdlička, MD (1869-1943): A Chronicle of the Life and Work of an American Physical Anthropologist"

1979-1982 -- Hired as Assistant Professor, Dept. of Anthropology, Queens College

1982 -- Published A History of American Physical Anthropology, 1930-1980

1983 -- Associate Professor, Dept. of Anthropology, Queens College

1984 -- Published The Origins of Modern Humans: A World Survey of the Fossil Evidence

1986 -- Full professor, Dept. of Anthropology, Queens College Published Ecce Homo: An Annotated Bibliographic History of Physical Anthropology

1990 -- Published Piltdown: A Scientific Forgery Published The Piltdown Papers 1908-1955: The Correspondence and Other Documents Relating to the Forgery

1997 -- Published The History of Physical Anthropology: An Encyclopedia

1999 -- Passed away on May 30 of cancer
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 40 Linear feet (94 boxes, 1 oversized box)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1836-1999
label: Date
content: bulk 1970-1999
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Anthropological Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NAA.2002-21
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: This collection is arranged in 15 series: (1) Correspondence, 1864, 1910, 1920, 1972-1999 (bulk 1972-1999); (2) Piltdown, 1836-1997; (3) Ales Hrdlicka, 1866-1867, 1893-1942, 1971-1981, 1994-1999; (4) Encyclopedia, 1881-1891, 1911-1999 (bulk 1991-1998); (5) Projects, 1858-1884, 1897-1909, 1919-1929, 1939-1999 (bulk 1982-1995); (6) Human Antiquity Research, 1960-1980, 1991-1998; (7) Subject Files, 1863-1999 (bulk 1970-1998); (8) Coded Files, 1836-1983 (bulk 1970-1983); (9) University Material, 1959, 1973-1998; (10) Personal Papers, 1966-1975, 1985-1994; (11) Notebooks, 1976-1999; (12) Card Files, undated; (13) Photographs, 1885-1990 (bulk 1980-1990); (14) Audiotapes, 1942, 1961, 1975-1976, 1998 (bulk 1975); (15) Realia, undated
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The Frank Spencer Papers were partially processed in 2003 by one processor and completed in 2004 by another processor. In 2006, parts of the collection were reorganized. Publications not written or annotated by Spencer and not inscribed by the author were removed from the collection.

Processed by M. Iverson and N. Mueller, 2003-2004

Encoded by NAA staff
bibliography: label: Selected Bibliography
content: 1979. "Biological Anthropology, Aleš Hrdlička, MD (1869-1943): A Chronicle of the Life and Work of an American Physical Anthropologist." PhD diss., University of Michigan, 1979.

1982. ed.  -- A History of American Physical Anthropology, 1930-1980 -- . New York: Academic Press, 1982.

1984. ed. with Fred H. Smith.  -- The Origins of Modern Humans: A World Survey of the Fossil Evidence -- . New York: A.R. Liss, 1984.

1986.  -- Ecce Homo: An Annotated Bibliographic History of Physical Anthropology -- . New York: Greenwood Press, 1986.

1990.  -- Piltdown: A Scientific Forgery -- . London: Oxford University Press, 1990.

1990.  -- The Piltdown Papers 1908-1955: The Correspondence and Other Documents Relating to the Forgery -- . London: Oxford University Press, 1990.

1997. ed.  -- The History of Physical Anthropology: An Encyclopedia -- . New York: Garland, 1997.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: This collection documents the research and professional activities of anthropologist Frank Spencer through his correspondence, manuscripts, notes, research files, teaching materials, photographs, and audiotapes. As a historian of physical anthropology, Spencer did a great deal of archival research. Well-represented in the collection is Spencer's research on the Piltdown hoax as well as the Piltdown research of Ian Langham, whose work Spencer continued after Langham's death in 1984. Among the materials collected are negatives of Piltdown-related papers and negatives of Sir Arthur Keith's papers held at the Royal College of Surgeons. Spencer, who theorized that Keith was behind the Piltdown hoax, had organized his papers with a grant from Wenner-Gren. Also represented in the collection is Spencer's research on the life and career of Aleš Hrdlička for his dissertation. Although most of Hrdlička's papers and photos that Spencer collected are copies of materials held at the National Anthropological Archives (NAA), the collection does contain original correspondence between Hrdlička and his first wife, Marie Strickler; his childhood report card from 1869; and copies of family photos obtained from Lucy Miller, Hrdlička's niece. The collection also contains an audio recording of Hrdlička speaking at Wistar Institute. Spencer's 1975 taped interviews with Henry Collins, Harry Shapiro, Ashley Montagu, and Lucille St. Hoyme can also be found in the collection. Other projects represented in the collection include A History of Physical Anthropology: An Encyclopedia, The Origins of Modern Humans: A World Survey of the Fossil Evidence, and Fallen Idols, Spencer's unpublished book on the history of scientific attitudes towards human origins. In addition, the collection contains copies of Physical Anthropology News, which Spencer co-founded and edited. Photos in the collection include images of Frank Spencer as well as of the 1981 and 1988 annual meetings of the Association of American Physical Anthropologists (AAPA) and the 1980 symposium Spencer and Noel T. Boaz organized on the history of American physical anthropology.

Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Aleš Hrdlička papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution