UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES

 

 

BERKELEY * DAVIS * IRVINE * LOS ANGELES * RIVERSIDE « SAN DIEGO + SAN FRANCISCO SANTA BARBARA * SANTA CRUZ

 

 

 

DEPARTMENT OF ANATOMY

SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

THE CENTER FOR THE HEALTH SCIENCES
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90024

July 20, 1977

Dr, Joshua Lederberg

Department of Genetics

Stanford University Medical Center
Stanford, California 94305

Dear Dr, Lederberg:

I am sorry to have delayed so long answering your letter concerning

biographical recollections of E, L. Tatum, but at least a part of the time I
have been away.

I agree that 1940 was the critical year for Neurospora genetics, and
Iwas at Stanford at the time. I do recall hearing about some of the develop-
ments in the form of special lectures by Tatum, and perhaps also by Beadle.
Unfortunately, insofar as giving you information is concerned, I was at Stan-
ford as a postdoctoral fellow, working in Dr. Douglas Whitaker's laboratory.
Thus, although I attended special lectures in the department, I was not taking
any formal course work, I have no recollection of a formal or informal graduate
course on Comparative Biochemistry which might have been given by Tatum,

While I was at Stanford in 1940 there was a graduate student working
in Dr. Whitaker's laboratory who quite probably was taking courses related to
developmental and genetic topics. This was William E,. Berg who has since gone
on to become a Professor in the Zoology Department of the Univ. of California
at Berkeley, He may be able to provide some real information that would be of
use to you. I would suggest that you get in touch with him.

There is one minor problem in your chronology as I see it. As best
as I can remember, I arrived on the Stanford campus sometime in the summer of
1940, and left in the summer of 1941 to go to Columbia. I do not think that
Beadle was actually on the campus for very much of that time. My recollection
was that his base then was really at Cal. Tech., although certainly he had begun
his association with Tatum, and did visit Stanford from time to time, perhaps
for more than casual stays. I suspect the association had begun earlier, I
had been a graduate student at Cal, Tech, from 1936-38, when I received an M.S.
degree there, I think I knew all of the geneticists there pretty well except
Beadle who, I believe, was on leave much of the time, and at least partly at
Stanford. He was only occasionally seen at Cal, Tech, I have joked about this
in conversations, that I always seemed to be where Beadle was not. The result
was that I never got to know Beadle very well when I was still at Cal. Tech.,
nor did I know him more than casually later at Stanford, Tatum, of course,
Dr. Joshua Lederberg July 20, 1977
page 2

was a permanent resident of Stanford,

Incidentally, there are two emeritus professors still alive here at
UCLA who in 1940 were on the faculty of the Physiology department at Stanford.
I am thinking of Drs. John Field and Victor Hall, While I am not aware of
either having any particular contact with the Biology department, or with
Dr. Tatum, there is an off chance that they may be able to provide some useful
information which you might be able to ascertain just by telephone calls,

I am sorry I cannot help more directly,

Sincerely yours,

ae
Daniel C, Pease
Professor and Chairman

 

DCP :esw