Theodosius Dobzhansky (APS 1942) was one of the most influential geneticists of the 20th century. His work on Drosophila (fruit flies) helped scientists to reconcile Darwin’s theories regarding natural selection with established ideas about heredity. Dobzhansky’s research drew upon the work of geneticists and naturalists to better understand how species evolve over time.

Many geneticists were fond of Dobzhansky, whom they affectionately nicknamed “Doby” or “Dodik.” When Dobzhansky deposited his papers at the APS, a number of his colleagues and students were inspired to do the same. Today, historians and scientists can make use of the Society’s extensive genetics collection.

L. C. Dunn (APS 1943) was one of the leading geneticists of the 20th century. His research established important genetic principles related to gene interaction, genetic differences in wild animal populations, and fertility factors.

Just as importantly, Dunn was dedicated to fighting the spread of eugenics and fascism. Through the Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced German Scholars, he helped scholars escape Nazi persecution by finding them academic posts in the United States.

In the 1960s, Dunn was instrumental in increasing the APS Library’s collection of geneticists’ papers. He founded the Mendel Newsletter, an annual APS publication for historians of science.

Inks and pencils on paper

In this letter to fellow geneticist Curt Stern (APS 1954), Barbara McClintock (APS 1946) illustrates the concept of chromosomal crossover. Her work with corn showed how chromosomes break and recombine to create new genetic combinations and increase genetic variation.

APS. Curt Stern Papers.

Postage stamps

Barbara McClintock’s work went unrecognized for decades, but eventually scientists realized the importance of her discoveries. McClintock became the first woman to win an unshared Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology in 1983. She remains the only woman to have done so.

APS. Barbara McClintock Papers.

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Barbara McClintock (center) worked with the most important geneticists of the day, including fellow APS Members Theodosius Dobzhansky (far left) and Curt Stern (second from left). She frequently exchanged ideas with Stern, who also studied “crossing over” genes.

APS. Curt Stern Papers.

Gold

In 1976, Baruch Blumberg won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering the hepatitis B virus and creating a vaccine for it.

APS.

Microscope, Bausch & Lomb, c. 1970, Research microscope

Lab Coat, Unknown, c. 1975, Fabric and red permanent marker

Baruch Blumberg wore this lab coat and used this microscope while doing research on hepatitis B. He quoted biologist Louis Agassiz (APS 1843) on the back of his lab coat, urging his colleagues to learn not just by reading, but by experiencing the natural world.

APS. Gifts of the Blumberg Family, 2014.

Electrostatic print on paper

Baruch Blumberg’s flow chart demonstrates the scientific method: he developed a hypothesis, tested it through experiments, examined the data, and then formulated new hypotheses. Through this process, he better understood the hepatitis B virus and discovered a vaccine.

APS. Baruch S. Blumberg Papers.

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APS. Baruch S. Blumberg Papers.

Founder and Chairwoman of United Therapeutics, Creator of SiriusXM Satellite Radio

Dr. Blumberg entered my life in 2002 as a member (and later Chairman) of the United Therapeutics Scientific Advisory Board. We bonded over our mutual fascination with nature and technology, and co-chaired a series of Nanomedical Technology workshops.

Barry was always happy, but the happiest I saw him was when my daughter Jenesis taught him how to operate an avatar in virtual reality. He said it fulfilled his lifelong desire to fly like a bird.

I imbibed from Barry the basics of my mantra: Breathe Curiosity, Question Authority, Act Lovingly, and Do Practically. He ceaselessly wondered, challenged, helped, and did. 

Electrostatic print on paper

Mildred Cohn and Britton Chance were colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1976, Cohn nominated Chance for the Nobel Prize for his work with the stop flow apparatus. However, Baruch Blumberg would win the medal that year.

APS. Mildred Cohn Papers.

Prototype of apparatus

Britton Chance developed stop flow methods while working towards his Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania. This stop flow apparatus reduced the speed of rapid chemical reactions so that they could be observed and better understood.

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In 1932, Mildred Cohn was the only woman working to develop fuel-injection airplane engines at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA, which later became NASA). Facing discrimination, she left to pursue a Ph.D. in physical chemistry at Columbia University.

APS. Mildred Cohn Papers.

Learn more about Mildred Cohn in this video from the Science History Institute!

Pre-press photograph

NACA’s director forbade Cohn from working in the lab. Cohn persisted, however, and convinced her supervisor to let her design experiments outside the lab for male chemists to perform in her place.

APS. Mildred Cohn Papers.

Ink on paper

Much of Cohn’s work was focused on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), which revealed the structure and behavior of chemical bonds. Her research laid the groundwork for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology.

APS. Mildred Cohn Papers.

Graphite

In 1942, physicist Enrico Fermi (APS 1939) and his colleagues assembled the first nuclear reactor on a squash court at the University of Chicago. Though too weak even to power a light bulb, it was an important step toward developing the atomic bomb.

APS. John Archibald Wheeler Papers.

Facsimile of pages on original notebook

Operation Crossroads was a 1946 atomic bomb test on Bikini Atoll, an island in the South Pacific. Theoretical physicist E. U. Condon kept detailed notes during the test and sketched the estimated blast radius.

APS. Edward U. Condon Papers.

Bound volume

Days after the United States bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II, physicist Henry DeWolf Smyth released a report on the government’s efforts to develop atomic weapons. The so-called “Smyth Report” sought to educate American citizens and scientists about “the potentialities of atomic bombs.”

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Photographs

In 1946, the United States tested the effects of nuclear weapons on warships. After forcing 167 Bikini Islanders to evacuate, the U.S. Army detonated two atomic bombs. The islands are still uninhabitable today due to nuclear contamination.

APS. Edward U. Condon Papers.

Carbon copy and inks on paper

Scientists worried that the government would restrict research on atomic energy and censor publications. During the APS’s 1945 symposium on atomic energy, APS Members resolved to write a letter to President Truman urging freedom of academic research.

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Ink on paper

In November 1945, the APS hosted a symposium on “the implications of atomic energy.” Speakers weighed the bomb’s potential to guarantee peace alongside the threats it posed to international relations, global health, and human rights.

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Listen to J. Robert Oppenheimer’s address at the 1945 APS symposium.

Inks on paper

Many scientists, including Albert Einstein (APS 1930), feared the catastrophic consequences of nuclear war. As founder of the Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists, Einstein wrote many letters like this one urging fellow scientists to promote peaceful solutions to international conflict. 

APS. William Francis Gray Swann Papers.

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Ralph Bunche (APS 1950) was the first African American APS Member. He worked to prevent the continued use of atomic weapons by helping to found the United Nations. Bunche won a Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating peace in the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict.

APS.

Executive Officer, American Philosophical Society (2017–present); Vilas Research Professor of Sociology, Emeritus, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Like many other American institutions, the APS took far too long to recognize extraordinary achievement in historically marginalized groups like African Americans and women. By the time the APS elected Ralph Bunche in 1950, numerous African Americans had contributed to our common store of useful knowledge. It was our loss that we failed to recognize the importance of W. E. B. Du Bois, Zora Neale Hurston, Booker T. Washington, Daniel Hale Williams, and many others. In recent years, the APS has more often elected Members who reflect the diversity of exceptional accomplishment in American society.

Oil on canvas

Herman H. Goldstine, a mathematician in the U.S. Army, oversaw the beginning of the government-funded project to create an electronic digital computer (ENIAC). Goldstine later served as Executive Officer of the APS from 1984 to 1997.

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ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was the world’s first large-scale digital electronic computer. Many APS Members helped to design this massive machine to solve complex computations related to ballistics. ENIAC began in secret at the University of Pennsylvania’s Moore School of Electrical Engineering during World War II but was not completed until 1946.

One of the many “firsts” associated with ENIAC is the first stored computer program. Written by mathematician John von Neumann, it allowed computer users to avoid repetitive manual entry of formulas and other data. 

ENIAC paved the way for today’s computers, which are increasingly powerful and useful tools.

One of the most influential statisticians of the 20th century, John Tukey spent much of his career working on computer technology. He coined the terms “software” and “hardware.” Tukey is also credited with the first use of the word “bit” (a combination of the words “binary” and “digit”) to describe a unit of information in computing.

Later, Tukey used his expertise to show how the APS could increase the number of younger, more active Members. Ever irreverent, he did the math to determine APS Members’ average age of death. Tukey used those statistics to argue for changing the Society’s Membership structure.

One of John Tukey’s most important contributions to computing was the fast Fourier transform (FFT). FFT allows data to be compressed rapidly. This algorithm is what makes it possible to stream videos on phones and computers today!

Mixed media

John Wheeler built on Einstein’s theory of general relativity, which explains how gravity works. Wheeler studied regions in space where gravity is so strong that even light cannot escape. He called them “black holes,” and depicted one in his research notebook.

APS. John Archibald Wheeler Papers.

The Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, California Institute of Technology; Recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physics, 2017

John Wheeler was one of the most insightful, creative, and inspirational physicists of the 20th century. Among others, he inspired Richard Feynman (who writes at length about this in his Nobel Lecture); Wheeler also inspired me and my colleagues in our work on black holes and gravitational waves (see my own Nobel Lecture). In the letter to Daniel Lipkin exhibited here, Wheeler asks about the physical natture and reality of wormholes in the structure of spacetime. My colleagues and I still struggle with this: see my book The Science of Interstellar.

Reprint of photograph

Herbert Friedman was a pioneer in X-ray astronomy. In 1964, Friedman first observed X-rays from the Crab Nebula, the remains of a supernova explosion. In good conditions, you can see the Crab Nebula using binoculars or a telescope.

APS. Herbert Friedman Papers.

Inks on paper

The first person to walk on the moon, Neil Armstrong famously referred to this achievement as “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Armstrong insisted that he actually said “one small step for a man,” and annotated this transcript accordingly.

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Photograph

APS. Gift of Paul Miller.

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APS. Gift of Paul Miller.