CSHL Library
Attends CSH Symposia Genes and Chromosomes: Structure and Organization & reunites with his son David
Recommends a genetic enlightenment to produce healthier, wiser and more caring offspring
Earns PhD in Zoology from Columbia University
Born on December 21st in NYC to parents H. J. Muller, Sr., & Frances Lyons Muller
Hermann in 1897 at age 7. Hermann was raised in NYC and was an outstanding student in high school. He kept a scrapbook of scientific inventions and discoveries as well as current events.
“Muller’s grandfather and two great uncles emigrated to the USA after the unsuccessful revolution of 1848 in Germany. From this family three prominent individuals descended: Alfred Kroeber, the anthropologist, Herbert J. Muller, the author and literary critic, and Hermann Joseph Muller” —Elof Axel Carlson
Letter from Hermann Muller to his father, who passed away when Hermann was only 9 years old, ca. 1898.
Letter from Muller to his first wife Jessie about the health of his mother Frances and also discusses his sister Ada, 1927.
Hermann’s sister Ada Muller Griesmaier posing during Muller’s trip to Germany in 1932.
Hermann and Jessie’s son David Muller, ca. 1933.
Muller’s custody dispute with his first wife Jessie Muller over his son David was front page news in the Austin American Newspaper, June 9, 1936.
Postcard sent to David Muller on his birthday, Hermann discusses his new job in Edinburgh (where he meets his second wife), 1937.
Postcard sent to David Muller on his birthday, Hermann discusses his new job in Edinburgh (where he meets his second wife), 1937.
Muller (pirate in the foreground) with his second wife Dorothea (newsvendor, third row top right with hat and mustache) at a Masquerade Party at the Edinburgh Institute for Animal Genetics in 1938.
Dorothea, Helen, & Hermann shortly after Hermann found out he had won the Nobel Prize, 1946.
Dorothea and Hermann on Aug 23, 1963 near Elk Lake in the Adirondack Mountains in upper New York State. Hermann meeting Thea just after his descent from Boreas Mountain, which he and Helen (who had become 19 that week) had spent the day climbing.
Traveling became a way of life for Muller. Dorothea designed the suitcase on rollers to lessen the strain of carrying luggage. He presented several dozen public lectures after he joined the Indiana University Faculty, ca. 1960s.
Muller’s house in Bloomington, Indiana.
H.J. & Dorothea’s daughter Helen & Muller’s grandson Ken, 2015.
Muller at the 1941 CSHL Symposia during which he conducted experiments with his flies in an old wine cellar from which the original bottles & barrels had been removed.
Muller receives the 1946 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine from King Gustav in Stockholm "for the discovery of the production of mutations by means of X-ray irradiation.”
Nobel Prize Winner H.J. Muller, 1946
Muller’s Drawings of Chromosomes and Flies, undated
Muller’s Drawings of Chromosomes and Flies, undated
Hermann’s 1951 itinerary for Japan, which he stopped at after India on his “round the world” trip. The Emperor gave Hermann a special crab that has the face of a samurai warrior on its belly. On April 12th Hermann went to Hiroshima (shortly after it was bombed) which must have had a tremendous impact on Hermann and ultimately drove him to sign the The Russell-Einstein Manifesto.
The Russell-Einstein Manifesto signed by Muller, Linus Pauling, Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell & seven others was issued at a press conference in London on 9 July 1955, and was sent as a warning to leaders of nations that possessed nuclear weapons or were capable of possessing them at that time
The Russell-Einstein Manifesto signed by Muller, Linus Pauling, Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell & seven others was issued at a press conference in London on 9 July 1955, and was sent as a warning to leaders of nations that possessed nuclear weapons or were capable of possessing them at that time
In this 1955 editorial cartoon drawing, cartoonist Herb Block presents H.J. Muller and his work on the dangers of atomic radiation being pushed out of the Atomic Energy Good News Commission. Muller's work studying radiation and genetics prompted him to work to raise awareness of the dangers of radioactive fallout and nuclear testing. "Sorry—it doesn't fit with the official line”
“At the International Congress of Human Genetics in Chicago in 1966, Muller presented his last paper. His concern over human aggression, especially through war, made him favor the selection of genes which permitted cooperative behavior as even more important than genes favoring high intelligence. It required great effort for him to make the trip and to give this lecture. He realized that this might be the last occasion where he would be able to speak out to his colleagues and he was determined to get across to them his great concern for the genetic improvement of man”
—Elof Axel Carlson
“At the International Congress of Human Genetics in Chicago in 1966, Muller presented his last paper. His concern over human aggression, especially through war, made him favor the selection of genes which permitted cooperative behavior as even more important than genes favoring high intelligence. It required great effort for him to make the trip and to give this lecture. He realized that this might be the last occasion where he would be able to speak out to his colleagues and he was determined to get across to them his great concern for the genetic improvement of man”
—Elof Axel Carlson
Hermann J. Muller Timeline on display at CSHL Library and Archives, February 2015.
The Frequency of Translocations Produced by X-Rays in Drosophila, by Muller and Altenburg, 1929
Table created by H.J. Muller in Russia “Some crossing techniques in Drosophila”
Table created by H.J. Muller in Russia “Some crossing techniques in Drosophila”
Table created by H.J. Muller in Russia “Some crossing techniques in Drosophila”
Table created by H.J. Muller in Russia “Some crossing techniques in Drosophila”
Letter from N. Timofeeff-Ressovsky to H.J. Muller regarding Drosophila genetics, 1930
Letter from N. Timofeeff-Ressovsky to H.J. Muller regarding Drosophila genetics, 1930
Effect of dosage changes of sex-linked genes, and compensatory effect of other gene-differences between male and female, by Muller, League, and Offermann, 1931
Hermann J. Muller’s statement regarding genetics and the choice of genes, 1931
The Effect of a Long Established Duplication on the Frequency of Detectable Mutation, typed original drafts written in the USSR and chromosome maps by Hermann J. Muller, ca. 1934
The Effect of a Long Established Duplication on the Frequency of Detectable Mutation, typed original drafts written in the USSR and chromosome maps by Hermann J. Muller, ca. 1934
Letter signed from Hermann J. Muller, S.G. Levit, A. Prokofyeva, and others to Comrade Edgar Altenburg, 1936
Letter from James D. Watson to Guido Pontecorvo regarding Muller as a teacher at Indiana University, 1968
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H.J. MULLER
Life in Pictures
Obtains a teaching fellowship in physiology at Cornell Medical College
Obtains critical evidence of the abundant production of gene mutations and chromosome changes by X-rays
Signs the Russell-Einstein Manifesto along with Max Born, Albert Einstein, Linus Pauling, Bertrand Russell & others issued at a press conference in London, England, and sent to leaders of nations that possessed nuclear weapons, or were capable of possessing them at that time.
Earns B.A. from Columbia University
Moves to Berlin, Germany, on a Guggenheim Fellowship where he worked with Timofeef-Ressovsky, Zimmer, and others. Work cut short by Hitler’s ascendance
Becomes instructor of zoology at Columbia where he elaborates methods for quantitative mutation study
Moves to Leningrad (Saint Petersburg), Russia, to study genetics establishes a laboratory as Senior Geneticist at the Institute of Genetics of the Academy of Sciences of the USRR. Begins study of quantitative radiation dose-frequency relations & also uses chromosomal rearrangements to study gene size and function
Presents his last paper at the International Congress of Human Genetics in Chicago “What Genetic Course Will Man Steer?”
Graduates valedictorian of Morris High School (NYC) and enters Columbia University – only through the unexpected award of a scholarship, automatically granted to him on the basis of entrance examination grades
Receives Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for showing that X-rays can induce mutations
Founds a students’ biology club, which was participated in by Edgar Altenburg, & two students, Calvin Bridges & Alfred Sturtevant who had entered Columbia a year later
Publishes findings on how X-rays produce gene mutations
Moves to Moscow to continue the same work & studies as Senior Geneticist at the Institute of Genetics of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, with considerable staff of co-workers
Takes a trip around the world, visits Hiroshima & meets with Japanese emperor
Begins teaching biology at the Rice Institute in Houston, invited by Julian Huxley
Passes away from congestive heart failure at the age of 77 in Indianapolis, Indiana
Begins working at the University of Texas, Austin as Associate Professor, teaching mainly genetics & evolution & conducting research mainly on mutation
Following the arrest of his associate Solomon Levit & rejecting the politicized genetics of the USSR, Muller enlists in the Spanish Revolution to temporarily move to Madrid, then to Paris to work in Boris Ephrussi’s lab, then visits Julian Huxley at the London Zoo, then moves to Edinburgh to work under FAE Crew, Director of the University of Edinburgh
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