Linus Pauling preparing for his lecture at Wilson College.

Linus Pauling in discussion with Wilson faculty.

Linus Pauling strolling Wilson College's campus, 1969.

Visited Wilson in April 1969 as the Centennial Speaker

Linus Pauling was one of the world’s most brilliant minds and had an enormous heart for people as well. Winner of two Nobel Prizes, for Chemistry and for Peace, he is often recognized as the founding father of molecular biology.

Ethicist and scientist, Pauling dedicated over 70 years of his life to the betterment of humanity. His contributed research to the fields of quantum theory, chemistry, molecular structure and chemical bonding, metallurgy and mineralogy, genetic diseases, hematology, immunology, brain function and psychiatry, molecular evolution, nutritional therapy, diagnostic technology, statistical epidemiology, and biomedicine. 

All of Pauling’s pursuits were fueled by his ceaseless desire to end human suffering. For this reason, he not only threw himself into a wide range of scientific fields, but also into social causes and humanitarian efforts. In addition to his Nobel Prizes, he won more than five awards for his work toward peace, and he was selected as Humanist of the Year by the American Humanist Association in 1961.

He wrote 8 books and published over 375 scientific papers and 100 social and political articles, of which many concerned focued on war and peacemaking efforts. 

Linus Pauling was invited to Wilson in 1969 to celebrate the College’s 100th anniversary with a series of lectures. His topics of discussion included human gene mutation, defects, and the threat of nuclear war to the human genome. He stressed the danger of nuclear war, weapons and missiles, health hazards of uranium, cigarettes, and stress to the health of humanity.

But not all of his talk was dedicated to doom and gloom. He closed by saying, “The world is now entering a period of increased knowledge and increased rationality and morality. I believe that we can eliminate the evil of war from the world and greatly decrease the amount of human suffering by using the world’s wealth for the benefit of mankind.” 

Linus Pauling fought for the good of the world until his death in 1994.

Sources:

Billboard Volume 50 No. 22 March 21, 1969

Billboard Volume 50 No. 24, April 25, 1969

https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/about/linus-pauling-biography