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Thomas Conrad Porter, botanist, theologian, educator, and poet, was a professor of botany, geology, and zoology at Lafayette College from 1866-1896. Porter’s scientific work focused primarily on the plants of Pennsylvania. Most of his research and collection of plants and minerals were destroyed in the Pardee Hall fire of June 4, 1879. The collection consists primarily of Porter’s notebooks on plants native to Pennsylvania. These notebooks formed the basis for Porter’s posthumously published works: Flora of Pennsylvania (1903) and Bryophyta and Pteridophyta of Pennsylvania (1904). The papers also include correspondence, a speech, Porter’s translations of other works, and his poetry. An addition to the collection consists mostly of correspondence, both personal and professional, along with writings and estate papers. The strongest concentration of letters range from 1844-1851, covering Porter’s early adult life.