KLAUBERGRACE-PHILIPTRANS

Interview with Grace and Philip Klauber on Laurence Klauber, Transcript, 1983

 

1983-07-21

 

Interviewer: Colston, Stephen

Laurence Klauber was the first Curator of Reptiles for the San Diego Zoo, a position he held from 1922 to 1931. He also served as President of the Board of Trustees of the Zoo from 1949-51. Klauber's primary vocation was as a power company executive with San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), where he was chairman of the board and chief executive officer until his retirement in 1953. Although herpetology was to him primarily an avocation, he described 53 new species or subspecies of reptiles, and his 2-volume study, Rattlesnakes: Their Habits, Life Histories, and Influence on Mankind (first published by University of California Press in 1956) is still considered the definitive scholarly work on the subject. In this interview, Laurence Klauber's widow Grace and his son Philip reflect on the life and accomplishments of Laurence Klauber.

Topics include: where Laurence was born, his parents and educational background; discussion of his work at SDG&E; how Laurence first got involved with the zoo, and his duties as consulting curator of reptiles; anecdotes about a lost albino snake, force-feeding of the pythons, and the times Laurence got bitten by rattlesnakes; his personal collection of tens of thousands of preserved animal specimens, particularly his large collection of preserved rattlesnakes; his role in supplying rattlesnake venom for antivenins to pharmaceutical labs; Laurence's large library and donations to the Natural History Museum; his greatest contributions to the field of herpetology, particularly the 2-volume rattlesnakes study, the 2nd edition of which was completed after his death; his observations of Hopi snake dances, which Laurence wrote a book about; other hobbies he pursued; and some of the people he corresponded with internationally as a scholar. The Klaubers are interviewed in their home in San Diego. The interview is a part of an oral history project of the Zoological Society of San Diego in collaboration with the Center for Regional History at San Diego State University, of which Colston is the director.

Laurence Klauber; Grace Klauber; Philip Klauber; Interviews; Oral histories; San Diego Zoo; Zoological Society of San Diego; Antivenins; Rattlesnakes; Herpetology; Herpetologists; Rattlesnake venom; Natural History Museum (San Diego); Hope snake dances; Stephen Colston

 

California - San Diego

© San Diego State University. All rights reserved.

 

 

English

 

Text

33 pages

Yes

KLAUBERGRACE-PHILIP; fs-soc-006

 

 

Document

PDF

6.64 MB