Fonds consists of textual, graphic and cartographic material relating to the work and studies of Dr. Rudolph Martin Anderson and his wife, Mae Bell Allstrand. The records have been divided into six series as follows: correspondence; subject files; diaries; manuscripts and notes; printed material; and family papers.
Anderson, Rudolph Martin, 1876-1961 : Rudolph Martin Anderson was born 30 June 1876 near Decorah, Iowa, to parents John Emanuel Anderson and Martha Ann Johnson. Anderson served with the American armed forces throughout the war with Spain in 1898. He received his university training at the University of Iowa, specializing in zoology, and received his PhD in zoology from the University of Iowa in 1906. Anderson participated in an expedition to the Eastern Arctic from 1908 to 1912 with Vilhjalmur Stefansson, for the American Museum of Natural History. In 1913, he was appointed zoologist with the Geological Survey of Canada, and appointed Chief of the southern party for the Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913 to 1918, commanded by Stefansson. Following his return to Ottawa in 1916, Dr. Anderson joined the Division of Biology at the National Museum. Following his naturalization in 1920, he became Chief of the Division. He retained this position until his retirement in 1946. Anderson passed away in Ottawa on 22 June 1961 at the age of eighty-five.
Mae Bell Allstrand, 1883-1960 : Mae Bell Allstrand was born in 1883. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Iowa and Masters of Arts in Wisconsin. On 22 January 1913 she married Rudolph Martin Anderson. Together they had three daughters as follows: Dorothy Ann, wife of the Reverend Stanley A. Smith of the United Church of Canada; Mary Lois; and Isobel, Mrs. Alan Purdy. Allstrand shared her interest in Arctic exploration with her husband, and translated numerous German scientific works relating chiefly to Arctic ornithology and travel. Allstrand died 5 March 1960.
