April 1, 1966
Dear Dr. Coburn:
I must thank you again for your kindness and thoughtfulness in sending me the photograph of Fred Griffith and the Xerox copy of your letter to Fess Avery.  Some time I wonder if you would be interested to write the intellectual history of the interaction of these men.  I have always been fascinated on exactly what Griffith thought of his experiment and just how deeply Avery understood the genetic implications in a broader context of what he took up from that.  The significance of all these observations was, as you know, somewhat clouded by a semantic confusion about directed mutation in contrast to gene transfer.  Griffith seemed quite clear about this.  I have never been able to straighten out in my own mind whether Avery bothered very much about these genetic issues.  I have written a little about this in the enclosed remarks, and would be interested to know if you had any comment on the writing.
Sincerely yours,
Joshua Lederberg
Professor of Genetics