Harold B. Hitchcock was born on June 23, 1903 in Hartford, Connecticut. Educated at Phillips Exeter Academy and Williams College, he obtained his master and doctorate degrees from Harvard University and began his teaching career at the University of Western Ontario in 1939. He accepted an appointment in the biology department at Middlebury College in 1943 and taught until retiring in 1968. Following retirement he taught summer sessions at Bowdoin College and Boston University. He had also been a visiting professor at Norwich University and the University of Hawaii. He was a Dana Professor and Chairman of the Biology Department at Bates College from 1969-1972.

Dr. Hitchcock married Martine Cutter of Winchester, Massachusetts in 1942 and they had three children. He died on September 13, 1995.

Part of the collection is composed of correspondence, newsclippings and assorted ephemera of a personal or Bates related nature. Includes several slides of the campus and of a 1971 student bat trip led by Dr. Hitchcock. Also includes several photocopied images of Dr. Hitchcock in his earlier years and a scrapbook of newsclippings and memorabilia covering his years at Bates.

The other part of the collection is comprised of correspondence, publications, reprints and newsclippings pertaining to bats, the primary subject of Dr. Hitchcock's research as a biologist. Contains several typescripts of manuscripts about bats, such as "A New England Bat Colony" which includes photographs and other information on how to catch and band bats.

The collection is organized into two series: I. Personal and Bates related material; II. Material on bats.