Chand, Rup, 1902-1994.

Rup Chand was associated with the University of Michigan for over forty years as a collector and labeler of plant and bird specimens from India, Iran, Afghanistan, Tibet, and other parts of the Middle East and South Asia.

From the description of Rup Chand papers, 1930-1994. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 84431265

From the description of Rup Chand photographs and slides series. 1930s-1970s. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 48218565

Rup Chand was associated with the University of Michigan for over forty years as a collector and labeler of plant and bird specimens from India, Persia, Afghanistan, Tibet and other parts of the Middle East and South Asia. Born April 16, 1902 in the Lahul district of the Punjab province of India, he was the son of Thakur Jai Chand and Thakur Kalzang Dolma. The Thakur family was a prominent family in Lahul; an ancestor had been given the status of chief of Ko-lon, a position that has been passed on to the oldest son of the family for generations.

In 1927 Chand joined the Indian Territorial Army Force, where he served with several family members. In the Summer of 1930, after leaving the army, Chand met University of Michigan professor Walter Koelz, who was collecting plant specimens for the Himalayan Research Institute of the Roerich Museum. Chand soon joined Koelz in his collection efforts. Chand and Koelz worked and traveled together for nearly thirty years. Chand himself collected more than 8000 specimen from places such as Assam, India, Persia, Nepal, Tibet and Afghanistan.

Chand visited the United States with Koelz in 1934 and 1937. In Michigan he met Professor Harley Bartlett, who extended a series of University appointments in order to help support Chand's plant collecting. When Koelz returned to Michigan in 1953, Bartlett helped to secure permission for Chand to immigrate to the United States in 1956. Chand lived with Koelz at his home in Waterloo, Michigan until the two had a falling out in 1960. Chand filed a $50,000 lawsuit against Koelz, which he claimed was his share of the profits from the pair's collecting efforts. Chand won the case in 1964 and was awarded over $15,000.

Chand worked independently on extensive labeling projects for the Koelz and Rup Chand collections until 1960, when a National Science Foundation Grant allowed the University Herbarium to hire Rup Chand as a full-time plant mounter. Chand often worked closely with Dr. Ralph Stewart, an expert on the flora of the Himalayas and Northern India. Chand officially retired from the University in 1970, but continued to work on a part-time basis. He also worked on translating the diaries of his travels with Koelz from Udru into English.

Rup Chand died on August 18, 1994 at the age of 92.

From the guide to the Rup Chand papers, 1930-1994, (Bentley Historical Library University of Michigan)