Fritiof Fryxell papers, 1822-1986

Fritiof Melvin Fryxell (1900-1986) was a geologist, mountaineer, conservationist, and historian. A graduate of Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, he taught geology there from 1923 to 1973. His interest in conservation was spurred by acquaintance with John Muir's biographer in California. His research, however, centered on Jackson Hole and the Teton Mountains of Wyoming. He helped establish Grand Teton National Park and was the Park's first naturalist (1926-1934). He scaled many of the Teton Peaks and wrote "Mountaineering in the Tetons: the Pioneer Period, 1898-1940". For this book, he interviewed other climbers, including W.O. Owen, who is credited as the first to reach the top of the Grand Teton.

Along with Jesse V. Howell, Fryxell did extensive research on Ferdinand V. Hayden and the U.S. Geological Survey of the Territories, which explored the Yellowstone Park region in the 1870s. Fryxell focused especially on the artists and photographers of the expeditions: W.H. Jackson, W.H Holmes, and Thomas Moran. He also corresponded with later Jackson Hole artist Olaf Moller and with novelist Owen Wister. Fryxell wrote a number of other books and articles, including a biography of Thomas Moran and a biographical sketch of geologist François Matthes.