Wendell Stanley: Crystallizing Viral History
Tobacco Mosaic Virus purified and seen under an electron microscope. Photograph under public domain.
Tobacco Mosaic Virus, ca. 1948. Photograph provided by The Bancroft Library.
Wendell Meredith Stanley (1904–1971) was a pioneer in the field of virology. With a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Illinois, he worked on many pressing scientific concerns of his time. During his time at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, Stanley conducted research on the Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV), which attacked and destroyed tobacco plants. TMV was the first virus ever to be crystallized, and Stanley’s success at doing so forged the symbolic beginnings of molecular biology. Though many viruses were known to science at this time, the nature and chemistry of viruses was a mystery. His discovery created ripples through the scientific community, bolstering research on viral genetics. For his exemplary work, he shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1946. Stanley recognized the significance of viruses, remarking, “The viruses hold the key to the modification—for better or worse—of all life. They hold the key to the secret of life, to the solution of the cancer problem to biological evolution, to the understanding and control of heredity, perhaps to the nature of all future life on earth” (The New York Times, June 16, 1971).
This exhibit had visitors travel to the mid-1900s to listen to Wendell Stanley talk about the philosophy and chemistry of viruses, and look at the virus that changed history.
Hubert Howe Bancroft, was an American historian born in 1832, accumulated an immense collection of manuscripts on the history of California, and later, also acquired histories of other parts of the US. After years of building his collection, he sought a permanent home for them, and so The Bancroft Library was born at the University of California, Berkeley. It now houses rare books, manuscripts, and other unique collections, including the Wendell Stanley papers.
Started in 1951, the Lindau Meetings are a series of annual conferences during which various Nobel laureates interact with undergraduate and graduate students who will go on to form the next generation of scientists.
