Oral Histories

Interview of Henry J. Bruman

UCLA professor of geography and director of the University of California Study Center at the Georg-August Universität, Göttingen.
Subtitle:
Generous Teacher, Gracious Benefactor
Series:
Z: Orphan Interviews pre 1999
Topic:
UCLA and University of California History
UCLA Faculty
Biographical Note:
UCLA professor of geography and director of the University of California Study Center at the Georg-August Universität, Göttingen.
Interviewer:
Novak, Steven J.
Interviewee:
Bruman, Henry J.
Supporting Documents:
Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research.
Language:
English
Copyright:
Regents of the University of California, UCLA Library.
Abstract:
Born the natural son of Karl Otto Graf von Baudissin and Anna Berta Else Fromme; suffers permanent hearing loss as a result of a childhood illness; moves with mother to United States; mother's marriage to William A. Bruman; travels by train to California; family's home life and economic circumstances; building of Shrine Auditorium; attends Manual Arts High School; places in national contests; begins reading science magazines; meets mentor Frederick C. Leonard, professor of astronomy; transfers to UCLA as a sophomore; Bruman's jobs as a UCLA student; the UCLA Department of Chemistry; Bruman becomes a citizen; discovers a fascination for Mexico on a camping trip; graduates with chemistry major in 1935 and geography major in 1936; faculty of geography department under George McCutchen McBride; Ruth Baugh encourages Bruman to publish his paper on the Bulgarian rose industry; moves to Claremont Hotel in Berkeley; field work with Carl O. Sauer; influence of philanthropist Elizabeth Coolidge; writes dissertation on the use of alcohol in Latin American Indian cultures; lives with the Huichol Indians; appearance of UCLA campus in 1930s; takes a junior professorship at Pennsylvania State University; differences in style between the East and West Coasts; works on the government's Project M, immigrant resettlement program; postdoctoral studies at Harvard University; UCLA offers position; Bruman's method of teaching; huge numbers of returning veterans enroll at UCLA; begins to buy and sell real estate for profit; visits Jicaltepec, Mexico; in 1951, spends year on sabbatical in Brazil; second trip to Brazil, 1955-56; the State Department initiates a cultural exchange sophomore; Bruman's jobs as a UCLA student; the UCLA Department of Chemistry; Bruman becomes a citizen; discovers a fascination for Mexico on a camping trip; graduates with chemistry major in 1935 and geography major in 1936; faculty of geography department under George McCutchen McBride; Ruth Baugh encourages Bruman to publish his paper on the Bulgarian rose industry; moves to Claremont Hotel in Berkeley; field work with Carl O. Sauer; influence of philanthropist Elizabeth Coolidge; writes dissertation on the use of alcohol in Latin American Indian cultures; lives with the Huichol Indians; appearance of UCLA campus in 1930s;