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Guide to the John N. Cobb Papers
1876-1970

Biographical Note

Best known as a leading authority on fisheries and for initiating and directing the University of Washington fisheries program, John Cobb was a fisheries biologist, author and editor, federal official, and college professor. Cobb became a leader in his field and received commissions to investigate fisheries along the Atlantic coast, Great Lakes, and the Pacific coast. Most of Cobb’s work was in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, but his investigations included everything from lobster fisheries in Maine to sponge fisheries in Florida. Aside from his development of the University of Washington fisheries program, some of Cobb’s most noteworthy contributions were inventions to allow salmon to overcome modern barriers. These included fishways, such as escalators, to allow salmon to pass over dams, and electric gates to keep young salmon out of irrigation ditches.

Cobb was born in 1868 in Oxford, New Jersey, where he attended public schools. After finishing high school, Cobb received no further formal education. In the late 1880s, he began to work as a newspaper reporter and editor.

Cobb’s fisheries career began when he took a job with the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, which lasted from 1895 until 1904. At the bureau he authored various publications, but unlike his later works, Cobb’s research and writing in the 1890s reflected a lack of scientific training. During this time, Cobb married Harriet C. Bidwell of Jersey City in 1898.

As he gained more experience in the field, his work improved and his reputation began to spread; Cobb furthered his career in 1904 when he accepted a position as the assistant agent of the Salmon Fisheries of Alaska. From 1913 to 1917, he served as editor of the Pacific Fisherman, a journal published in Seattle. In 1917 Cobb became the assistant general superintendent of the Alaska Packers Association, a job he held until 1919.

In the 1910s Cobb began to encourage the University of Washington to establish the first fisheries college in the United States. The university had begun consulting Cobb about a fisheries program as early as 1914, but once World War I began, the university put the program on hold until 1919. When the university opened the school in 1919, Cobb was asked to be its director. Given that Cobb had not even earned a bachelor’s degree, his appointment was somewhat unusual and reflected his remarkable reputation and achievements. Without any familiarity with academic customs, Cobb was assigned to organize a new college, recruit faculty, establish a curriculum, and teach.

During Cobb’s tenure as director (and later dean) of the College of Fisheries, he continued to publish and enhance his reputation in the field. In 1921 and 1923, he served as president of the Pacific Fisheries Society. During his career at the University of Washington, Cobb also gained a reputation as an irascible character who dealt ruthlessly with students and faculty alike.

By 1929 Cobb had developed a debilitating heart condition that forced him to put his teaching and research aside. In January 1930, Cobb died of a heart attack in La Jolla, California, at the age of 61.

Arrangement

Arranged in 4 accessions:

• Accession No. 1595-004, John N. Cobb family papers, 1876-1970
• Accession No. 1595-005, John N. Cobb correspondence, 1893-1924
• Accession No. 1595-006, John N. Cobb papers, 1884-1969 (bulk 1897-1930)
• Accession No. 1595-007, John N. Cobb correspondence, blueprints, and photographs, 1921

Scope and Content

Correspondence, diaries, writings, lectures, notebooks and field notes, publications, reports, drawings, clippings, certificates, labor agreements, financial records, legal documents, legislation, and newsletters (1890-1930). Also includes records relating to Genevieve Cobb, John N. Cobb's daughter; the University of Washington Fisheries College; and the Washington State Fisheries Board. Major correspondents include Miller Freeman, the Alaska Packers Association, the Pacific Fisherman, the Pacific Power and Light Company of Portland, Oregon, the Union Fish Company of San Francisco, the United States Fish and Fisheries Commission, the United States Fisheries Bureau, and the Washington Fisheries and Game Department.

Alternate Forms Available

View selections from the John N. Cobb photographs, 1897-1926, PH Coll. 418, in digital format.

Restrictions on Access

The papers are open to all users.

Note: This material is not available for use on Saturdays and holidays.. For general information on our normal business hours, please see our hours of operation listing.

Restrictions on Use

The creator's literary rights have not been transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Preferred Citation

[Title of item], [date of item if known], [box/folder number], John N. Cobb Papers, [Accession No. ], University of Washington Libraries.

Processing Info

Most of the visual materials from multiple accessions were relocated to the John N. Cobb Photographs, 1897-1926, PH Coll. 418, which is also located in Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries. From Accession No. 1595-004: one box of photographs and negatives were relocated in November 1977 and 3 photographs were relocated in April 1994. From Accession No. 1595-006, an unknown but substantial number of photographs was relocated in 1977.

Maps from Accession No. 1595-006 were relocated to the Map Collection & Cartographic Information Services division, University of Washington Libraries in 1977.

Other Finding Aids

The visual materials that form part of these papers are described and indexed in A Guide to the John N. Cobb Photographs, 1897-1926, PH Coll. 418, available in the Special Collections division, University of Washington Libraries.

Inventory