GOCKEFELLER Tripp

a _ 7X
ALBERT EINSTEIN PEACE PRIZE FOUNDATION — (2EC.18 1979 “*\,

&; “ite wt f
1430 WEST WRIGHTWOOD AVENUE - CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60614 - (312) 472-8832 & OF THE PRESIO.. ee

 

Board of Directors

Bernard Feld, President and Chairman

Professor of Physics, MIT

Abram Chayes, Vice-President
Professor of Law
Georgetown Law Center

Carolyn Chin, Secretary
Executive Secretary to the
Department of HEW

Marshall Bennett, Treasurer
Senior Partner,
Bennett and Kahnweiler

William Swartz, Executive Director
President, Embosograph
Display Mfg. Co.

Harrison Brown
Director, Resource Systems
Institute, East West Center

Paul Doty

Director, Center for Science
and International Affairs,
Harvard University

Franklin Long
Professor Emeritus of
Science and Society,
Cornell University

Matthew Meselson
Professor of Biochemistry,
Harvard University

Gerard Piel
Publisher,
The Scientific American

Victor Weisskopf
Professor Emeritus of
Physics, MIT

Herbert York

Professor of Physics and
Director, Program on Science,
Technology & Public Affairs,
University of California

Norman Cousins, Chairman
of the Selection Board
Lecturer in the Medical
Humanities, UCLA School

of Medicine

*

December 14, 1979

Dr. Joshua Lederberg
Rockefeller University
1230 York Ave.

New York, NY 10021

Dear Dr. Lederberg:

We are sending this letter to you at the suggestion of
Harrison Brown.

The year 1979 has been celebrated as the 100th anniversary
of the birth of Albert Einstein, the greatest scientist of
the 20th century. Yet, Einstein’s greatest contribution
may lie in his quest for a durable peace throughout the
world.

To ensure that Einstein’s philosophy and goals will prevail
in these critical times, the trustees of Einstein’s estate
have sponsored the creation of the Albert Einstein Peace
Prize Foundation. The Board of Directors and the Selection
Board include prominent statesman, scientists and
educators, some of whom were close associates of Einstein.

The Albert Einstein Peace Prize Foundation will advance
Einstein’s hope that the world can achieve a creative,
lasting peace through effective world order. The first
activity of the Foundation has been the establishment of an
annual prize to honor the individual(s) who has made the
greatest contribution to world peace, consistent with
Einstein’s philosophy. /

We are very pleased to invite you to nominate sandidates
for the first Albert Einstein Peace Prize. The Board of
Directors requests that you nominate the person(s) who, in
your opinion, has most effectively furthered the cause of
world peace according to the enclosed criteria. The name

of the first Albert Einstein Peace Prize Laureate will be
announced on the 1980 anniversary of Einstein’s birthday,
March 14, and therefore we ask that you submit your
nominations(s) by December 31, 1979, if possible.
Page 2

Many of us give highest priority to this project, for we
recognize the truth of Einstein’s statement that the threat
of nuclear war underscores all other human struggles. We
will consider it a great honor if you join us in the
attempt to make a significant contribution to world peace
in Einstein’s name.

Sincerely,

a aa

Norman Cousins
Chairman of the Selection Board

Enclosures
CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF THE ALBERT EINSTEIN PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE

Albert Einstein represented the desire of all mankind in his
lifelong pursuit of a just world free from war. The Albert Einstein
Peace Prize has been created in honor of the 100th anniversary of
Einstein's birth on March 14, 1879. The prize will be awarded
annually to the person(s) who, following the example of this great
innovator, has contributed most, significantly to the prevention of
the world-wide holocaust of nuclear war.

The primary consideration in selecting the Albert Einstein Peace
Prize Laureate will be given to the candidates' efforts in averting
nuclear annihilation. In addition, serious consideration will be
given to the candidates' endeavors in constructing international
institutions which effectively curb the tendencies of nations to
solve their international problems through force.

Einstein's own words best summarize the goals that this prize will
attempt to encourage:

"We know that the developments of science
and technology have determined that the
peoples of the world are no longer able to
live under competing international sover-
eignties with war as the ultimate arbiter.
Men must understand that the times demand

a higher realism which recognizes that 'no
man is an island,' that our fate is joined
with that of our fellow men throughout the
world. We must contrive to live together

in peace, even at the cost of great material
sacrifice; the alternative is the death of
our society. As we approach what may be the
last hour before midnight, the challenge is
plainly before us. What will be our response?"

The Albert Einstein Peace Prize intends to recognize those indiv-
iduals who rise most constructively to this challenge.