25 February 1954
Dr. S. B. Hendricks
1118 Dale Drive
Silver Spring, Maryland
Dear Sterling:
I am looking forward to the symposium on nucleic acids, about which Dr. Bronk talked with me over the telephone, and I want to thank you for arranging the programs.
First, I do not plan to say anything, except what I need to say while serving as chairman. No time needs to be allotted to me.
You have suggested that the speakers be Watson or Crick, Kalckar, Hershey, Bolton, and Hotchkiss. I suggest that we include both Watson and Crick, and the other four. I have already spoken to Watson, who agrees that this would be satisfactory. I suggested that one of them describe the two-strand structure of DNA, and the other talk about its biological significances. I think that it is up to Watson and Crick to decide between themselves how to divide the whole subject up, and what their titles should be. The other speakers seem to me to be all right.
It is my understanding that Markham is not a very good speaker, and I suppose that it would not be possible to have Davidson from Glasgow or Todd from Cambridge to speak on their respective lines. Bronk mentioned over the telephone that it might be possible to bring an Englishman over. If Todd were going to be elected a Foreign Associate of the Academy this year, then perhaps he should be invited. I think that his work on the chemistry of nucleic acids is the most outstanding that has been done in recent years.
I am looking forward to seeing you and Edith again. Ava Helen and I had thought that we would not come to Washington this year (having got pretty tired of the place in December – except of course, for the stay with you, which bolstered our spirits considerably), but now we plan to come, because of the symposium.
Best regards to all of you.
Sincerely,
Linus Pauling:W
CC: Dr. Bronk
February
25, 1954
