John Hurrell Crook Papers

The papers are divided into three sections: Correspondence, Research Papers and University of Bristol Material. The correspondence covers a variety of topics, including Dr. Crook's visit to the Soviet Union for the 1973 Theriological Conference, animal behaviour and Buddhism. The research papers cover his research from 1952 until 1997, concentrating mainly on biological and psychological research, and the University of Bristol material deals with academic business, including examinations, conducted by Dr. Crook during his tenure at Bristol, as well as information on events concerning the Psychology Department after the death of Professor KRL Hall in 1965.

John Crook was born on 27 November, 1930. He studied Zoology at the University of Southampton, and earned his PhD at Cambridge from 1955 - 1958 with a study of Weaver Birds. He spent a great deal of time in the field as a research scientist, working on Weaver birds in India and the Seychelles to complete a monograph of that avian family. Dr. Crook also conducted extensive research on the biology of mammals and some on fish. He studied many primates of Africa, including the Ethiopian Gelada baboon. From the early 1960s Dr. Crook was reader in Ethology at the University of Bristol's Psychology Department. Now retired, he continues to work on his interests as a scholar of Zen Buddhism, including leading expeditions into the Himalayas and Ladakh.

Accessible to all bona fide readers.

These papers were given to Special Collections by Dr. Crook in 1997.

Compiled by Martin Hall, Assistant Archivist, University of Bristol Information Services - Special Collections.

Typescript catalogue available in Special Collections.

Permission must be obtained from Special Collections.

DM 1320 - Academic profile tape of Dr. Crook, Reader in Ethology, Dept. of Psychology, University of Bristol, recorded by John Baxter in 1981. Consists of 2 audio tapes and 1 transcript booklet.