Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open to research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], I. D. Wilson Letters, Ms1994-020, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The I. D. Wilson Letters were donated to Special Collections and University Archives in 1994.

Processing Information

The processing and description of the I. D. Wilson Letters commenced and was completed in October, 2023.

Biographical / Historical

Irl Donaker ("I. D.") Wilson, son of John F. and Hattie Donaker Wilson, was born in Rockwell (Cerro Gordo County), Iowa, on May 21, 1888. He earned a doctorate of veterinary medicine at Iowa State University in 1914. That same year, he married Lulu Belle Seely (1880-1952) in Faribault County, Minnesota; the couple would have one son. Wilson received a master's degree in animal pathology at Penn State University in 1918, and a Ph.D. from Iowa State in 1930. Wilson joined the faculty of Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute (later Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI)) as a professor of veterinary science in 1923, eventually becoming head of the university's biology department. In 1953, he married Eleanor Atkins Allison. Upon retiring from VPI in 1958, Wilson served for two years as an education advisor in India. He held memberships in the Virginia Veterinarian Medical Association, the American Veterinarian Association, and the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, and he served as president of the Virginia Academy of Sciences. I. D. Wilson died July 8, 1978, and was buried in Westview Cemetery, Blacksburg (Montgomery County), Virginia.

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of a volume of bound letters of tribute to I. D. (Irl Donaker) Wilson, a Virginia Poltechnic Institute (today Virginia Tech) professor of biology, written by students, colleagues, and friends upon Wilson's retirement in 1958. (Although the volume bears the embossed title "Letters to I. D. Wilson, 1958," the letters were all written in 1957.) Inserted into the bound volume are a poem, "The Ballad of I. D. Wilson," by VPI Dean of Agriculture L. B. Dietrick; a copy of Wilson's obituary and an article about his death; and a studio portrait photograph of Merle Strickler Chilton, VPI class of 1933.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Faculty and staff
• University History
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute (1944-1970)

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the I. D. Wilson Letters by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).