Author Description

Solon Justus Buck (1884-1962) was the Second Archivist of the United States. His academic career, never straying very far from his interest in the history of agricultural communities, started with a brief appointment to Indiana University followed by two years at the University of Illinois. During his long tenure in Minnesota he fought hard for the state's history, helping organize county historical societies, founding a quarterly periodical, and moving the Historical Society from the basement of the State Capitol to its own building. As might be expected from such a career, Buck's gifts lay in organization, with a particular talent for bibliography; he became an international authority in archival economy. His works include: Illinois (1818), The Agrarian Crusade (1919) and The Planting of Civilization in Western Pennsylvania (1939).