Everette Lee DeGolyer's bookish interests led him in three different directions. He began by collecting literary first editions. Later, his upbringing in Oklahoma and early experiences as a petroleum geologist in Mexico sparked his enthusiasm for the history of Mexico and the American Southwest, which led him to assemble a fine collection of books on Spanish colonial history and the trans-Mississippi West. During the last decade of his life he gathered many books pertaining to the history of science with the idea of creating a permanent collection for students and researchers.

DeGolyer was born in Greensburg, Kansas, on 9 October 1886, the first child of John William DeGolyer and Narcissa Kagy Huddle DeGolyer. During his youth his father--a sometime farmer, cook, and zinc prospector--moved the family to southwestern Missouri and from there to central Oklahoma, finally settling in Norman.

DeGolyer began attending the University of Oklahoma preparatory school in 1904 and...