Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434) 560 Drillfield Drive Newman Library, Virginia Tech Blacksburg, Virginia 24061 Business Number: 540-231-6308 specref@vt.edu URL: http://spec.lib.vt.edu
John M. Jackson, Archivist
Repository
Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Identification
Ms.1988.006
Title
George Myron Shear Papers 1927-1986
Quantity
0.2 Cubic Feet, 1 box
Creator
Shear, George Myron
Language
The materials in the collection are in English.
Abstract
This collection consists of the papers--including correspondence and published writings--of Virginia Tech plant pathologist
and physiologist George Myron Shear. It includes correspondence with the laboratory of Thomas A. Edison.
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 for research.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder],
George Myron Shear Papers, Ms1988-006, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
Source of Acquisition
The George Myron Shear Papers were acquired by Special Collections prior to 1989.
Processing Information
The processing, arrangement, and description of the George Myron Shear Papers commenced and was completed in December, 2018.
George Myron Shear, son of Cornelius and Avis Morrison Sherwood Shear, was born in Maryland on April 25, 1905. He earned a
bachelor's degree at the University of Maryland in 1927. The 1930 census shows George Shear living in the Arlington, Virginia
home of his parents. He is described as 24, single, and unemployed.
Later that year, Shear married Olalla Elaine Glasgow (1906-1983), who, like him, had obtained a master's degree in botany
at the University of Illinois in 1928. The Shears would have four children.
Also around 1930, Shear started work at the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station as a plant physiologist. In 1949, he
became a professor of plant physiology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. He was a pioneer in developing no-tillage farming
techniques during the 1960s and was a noted expert on the cultivation of watercress.
George Myron Shear retired from Virginia Tech in 1970. He died in 1990 and was buried in Blacksburg's Westview Cemetery.
This collection contains the papers of George Myron Shear, a plant pathologist and physiologist at Virginia Polytechnic Institute
from 1930 to 1970. Among the correspondence are several 1927 letters from the laboratory of Thomas A. Edison regarding a project
in which Shear was to collect for the lab various botanical samples of plants containing a milkly latex. Included among these
are photocopies of two letters from Thomas A. Edison. (The project arose from Edison's attempt to develop a cost-effective
domestic production of rubber.) The remainder of the correspondence relates largely to requests from various individuals for
copies of Shear's articles and for assistance with various projects. Other letters relate to nominees for the No-Tillage Pioneer
of the Year Award. Also included is a collection of Shear's writings, consisting mostly of printed materials relating to his
work with no-tillage farming. Except where otherwise noted, all articles in the collection were either authored or co-authored
by Shear. The publications are followed by a bibliography of Shear's reports and articles. A booklet about no-till farming,
published by Allis-Chalmers and incorporating research data from Virginia Tech, completes the collection.
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