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Delbrück, Max (Biologist, Nobel Laureate)

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1906 - 1981

Biographical/Historical

Background: Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, 1969; Caltech professor of biology, 1947-1977; pioneer in the field of molecular genetics.

Biographical/Historical

Description: Born in Berlin, Delbrück was the youngest member of a large intellectual family. During 1931-32 he studied with Niels Bohr in Copenhagen, and W. Pauli in Zurich. Bohr, in particular, had a major influence on Delbrück, and provoked his interest in biology with the claim that the complementarity principle of quantum mechanics could be applied to other sciences, especially biology. Delbrück left Germany in 1937 because of Nazism and came to the United States. In 1940 he began his forty-year association with Cold Spring Harbor. In 1947 he became professor of biology at Caltech. His Nobel Prize, awarded in 1969 in Physiology or Medicine, was shared with A. D. Hershey and S. E. Luria for work they collaborated on in the 1940s.

Biographical/Historical

Collection Notes: Oral history, 1978. This 113-page oral history was done in 6 sessions. It includes Delbrück's memories of his family and early education; university education (Germany, 1924-32); early career in Germany and the period leading up to World War II; Phage work and the phage group (1937-1946); life and research at Caltech; physicists and biology; and postwar visits to Germany.

Papers, 1906-1981. The bulk of the material in this collection is related to Delbrück's professional life and focuses on the years between 1930 and 1980. The papers chronicle his role in the development of molecular biology while supplying abundant evidence of the strong personality which attracted attention and even devotion from scientists and nonscientists alike. Particularly interesting is the personal correspondence, which makes up more than half of the collection and covers the years 1932-1981. Also included are papers relating to his institutional affiliations, professional organizations and meetings, technical files, lectures, manuscripts, selected reprints, biographical and personal material.

Collection size: 44 boxes plus one box supplemental materials, 16 linear ft.

Finding aid available at the Archives.

Photo of Max Delbrück (PhotoNet)

See also: Manny Delbrück

Found in 41 Collections and/or Records:

Annual Faculty Dinner 1970

 Unprocessed Material
Identifier: 1999-00089

Astronomy To Physics To Biology

 Unprocessed Material
Identifier: 1986-00152

Seymour Benzer Papers

 Collection
Identifier: 10242-MS
Abstract Seymour Benzer (1921-2007) first came to Caltech in 1949. He held the James G. Boswell Professorship of Neuroscience from 1975 to 1993. A selection of his correspondence, research notes, technical files, reprints, manuscripts and writings form the collection known as the Seymour Benzer Papers in the Archives of the California Institute of Technology. Benzer was awarded the Crafoord Prize in 1993 for his pioneering genetical and neuropsychological studies on behavioral mutants in the fruit...
Dates: 1942-2007; bulk 1950-2000

Caltech Y talk

 Unprocessed Material
Identifier: 2002-00164

Caltech Y talk

 Unprocessed Material
Identifier: 1987-00102

Max Delbrück Papers

 Collection
Identifier: 10045-MS
Abstract This collection encompasses most of Delbrück's lifetime and chronicles his role in the development of molecular biology. The bulk of the materials date from the time of his immigration to the U.S. in 1946. They include personal and professional correspondence, lectures, manuscripts, and biographical material. These materials relate to topics such as his immigration as a German scientist during the early years of World War II; biophysics; his work with the Phage Information Service; his...
Dates: 1918-1997

Delbruck Sings

 Unprocessed Material
Identifier: 2000-00081

Homo Scientificus According To Becket

 Unprocessed Material
Identifier: 1986-00156

Homo Scientificus According To Becket

 Unprocessed Material
Identifier: 2000-00082

Hygrometer

 Unprocessed Material
Identifier: 1994-00015

I Am Curious--Max [sound recording]

 Unprocessed Material
Identifier: 2007-00052

Lectures: Cell Biology (Bio 9)

 Unprocessed Material
Identifier: 1986-00155

Lectures: Cell Biology (Bio 9)

 Unprocessed Material
Identifier: 1998-00107

Limitation Of Science

 Unprocessed Material
Identifier: 1986-00153

Max Delbruck Oral History Interview with Carolyn Harding [sound recording], 1978-07-14 - 1978-09-11

 Item
Scope and Contents Interview in 1978 with Max Delbruck, professor of biology emeritus, begins with his recollections of growing up in an academic family in Berlin. Trained at Gottingen in the late 1920s as a theoretical physicist, he later switched to biology, inspired by Niels Bohr to investigate the applications of complementarity to biological phenomena. After postgraduate work at Bristol and Copenhagen, he returned to Berlin in 1932 to work for Lise Meitner and formed a "club" of theoretical physicists,...
Dates: 1978-07-14 - 1978-09-11

Max Delbruck Oral History Interview with Carolyn Harding [sound recording], 1978-07-14 - 1978-09-11

 Item
Scope and Contents Interview in 1978 with Max Delbruck, professor of biology emeritus, begins with his recollections of growing up in an academic family in Berlin. Trained at Gottingen in the late 1920s as a theoretical physicist, he later switched to biology, inspired by Niels Bohr to investigate the applications of complementarity to biological phenomena. After postgraduate work at Bristol and Copenhagen, he returned to Berlin in 1932 to work for Lise Meitner and formed a "club" of theoretical physicists,...
Dates: 1978-07-14 - 1978-09-11

Mendel Medal

 Unprocessed Material
Identifier: 1999-00090

National Academy of Sciences Centennial Medal

 Unprocessed Material
Identifier: 1999-00092

Nobel Prize In Medicine 1969

 Unprocessed Material
Identifier: 1991-00045

Nobel Prize In Medicine 1969

 Unprocessed Material
Identifier: 1991-00046

On Einstein

 Unprocessed Material
Identifier: 1986-00150

Additional filters:

Type
Unprocessed Material 34
Archival Object 5
Collection 2
 
Subject
Biology 16
Lecture 6
Manuscript Collection 4
Frontiers Of Science 3
Nobel Prize 3