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June E. Downey papers, 1887-1950

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Downey, June E. (June Etta), 1875-1932
Title
June E. Downey papers
Dates
1887-1950 (inclusive)
1913-1932 (bulk)
Quantity
13.65 cubic ft. (23 boxes)
Collection Number
400025
Summary
The June E. Downey papers concern Downey's professional life as a scientist and teacher at the University of Wyoming. They contain valuable information about personality testing and graphology in the early part of the twentieth century.
Repository
American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming
American Heritage Center
University of Wyoming
1000 E. University Ave.
Dept. 3924
Laramie, WY
82071
Telephone: 3077663756
ahcref@uwyo.edu
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public. However, Series I, Series II, and Series VII contain personal information about Downey's experiment subjects. Researchers desiring access to these series must agree not to cite the names of Downey's experiment subjects in any published or unpublished work that results from use of this collection.

Languages
English
Sponsor
The creation of the EAD-version of this finding aid was made possible through a grant from the National Historic Publications and Records Commission.
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Historical Note

June Etta Downey was born on July 13, 1875, in Laramie, Wyoming. Her father, Stephen W. Downey, was a prominent Laramie attorney and was instrumental in the founding of the University of Wyoming in 1887. June was among one of its first classes, entering the University in 1891. She studied Greek and Latin and was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1895.

After teaching in the Laramie public school system, Downey enrolled at the University of Chicago in 1896. There she studied philosophy, psychology, and Greek and received a Master of Arts degree in 1898. Downey then returned to Laramie and taught English and philosophy courses for the University of Wyoming until 1902. At that time, she accepted a fellowship in psychology at the University of Chicago. She completed her doctoral study in 1907 with a dissertation on “Control Processes in Modified Handwriting.”

Downey was appointed a professor of philosophy and psychology at the University of Wyoming after the completion of her doctoral degree, and she became head of the Department of Philosophy and Psychology in 1915. She retained this position until her death in 1932. She was regarded as a fine instructor capable of stimulating the curiosity of all of her students.

In addition to her teaching skills, Downey was noted for her pioneering work in the field of personality testing. She sought to develop testing procedures that assessed more than mental aptitude. To this end, she studied handwriting, types of dextrality, and inherited traits like color blindness.

Downey was a prolific writer. Her Individual Will-Temperament Test was published in 1919, and her book, The Will Temperament and its Testing, was published in 1923. She wrote six other monographs, published seventy articles for professional journals, and penned numerous book reviews and popular articles on psychology. She considered herself to be artistically talented, writing poetry and plays. She was the author of the University of Wyoming Alma Mater song. Downey died on October 11, 1932, of cancer, while visiting New Jersey.

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Content Description

The June E. Downey papers concern Downey’s professional life as a scientist and teacher at the University of Wyoming. They contain valuable information about the nature of psychology and, more specifically, personality testing in the early part of the twentieth century. Downey evaluated personality in a variety of respects, expanding upon the accepted method of using mental aptitude as the sole measure of personality. Downey also sought to delineate the boundaries of graphology and describe more accurately what could be learned about a person from her handwriting. This aspect of Downey’s research is also documented in the collection as well as the nature of the profession of graphology during the period. The collection contains a small amount of class material from the classes that Downey taught, including course assignments. It also includes information about how the department of Psychology and Philosophy at the University of Wyoming conducted its affairs.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Copyright Information

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Restrictions on Use

Statement on Potentially Harmful Language and Images Found in Collections

The American Heritage Center aspires to approach all areas of our work in ways that are respectful to those who create, use, and are represented in our collections. For a variety of reasons, however, users may encounter offensive or harmful language or images in some of our finding aids, catalogs, and collection materials.

Note that the AHC does not censor or alter contents of the collections as they provide context and evidence of a time, people, place, or event. Therefore, we encourage users to bring questions and concerns about descriptions in our finding aids to our attention via email or anonymous web-form. For more information, read our full statement.

Preferred Citation

Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, June E. Downey papers, 1887-1950, Collection Number 400025, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

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Administrative Information

Related Materials

For other archival collections housed at the American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming, relating to June E. Downey and her work, see:

Downey Family papers, Collection Number 10555 University of Wyoming, Dept. of Psychology records, Collection Number 545002

Acquisition Information

The June E. Downey papers were initially donated by Lillian Portenier in 1968 and 1975. Additional accretions were received from the University of Wyoming Psychology Department in 1995, from the University’s Coe Library in 1995 and 1996, and from Paul Teetor in 2002.

Processing Note

The collection was processed by Shannon Bowen in January 2002.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Container List

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Ability--Testing.
  • Graphology.
  • Personality tests.

Corporate Names

  • University of Wyoming--History.
  • University of Wyoming. Dept. of Psychology.

Geographical Names

  • Laramie (Wyo.)
  • Wyoming--History--1890-1918.
  • Wyoming--History--1919-1945.

Processed by Shannon Bowen
2006

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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