The Paving Inspector Job

A unique chapter of Linus Pauling’s life played out over the summers of his undergraduate years at Oregon Agricultural College. A theme that had shadowed much of his young adult life – problems with finances – would continue to follow him into his graduate studies. The absence of a steady source of income, as well [...]

Fred Allen’s Notebook

During his time at Oregon Agricultural College, Linus Pauling quickly built a reputation as being the smartest man on campus. This reputation would eventually evolve into international considerations of Pauling as one of the top scientists in all of history. Understandably, because of his abilities in the classroom and the laboratory, he made significant impressions [...]

Fraternity Life

“I was one of the founding members of the Oregon State Chapter of Delta Upsilon, and was present at the installation – in fact, I had prepared the petition that was submitted to the fraternity, and was successful in getting the fraternity to set up the Oregon State Chapter.”
- Linus Pauling, 1988
Linus Pauling’s undergraduate career [...]

Pauling’s Freshman Diary, Part 2

In part one of our look at Linus Pauling’s Oregon Agricultural College diary, we covered the genesis of document as well as a few of the young Pauling’s more interesting entries. Today, we’ll discuss some of subjects most prominently occupying Pauling’s thoughts both before and after he left for college. Although Pauling undoubtedly had much [...]

Pauling’s Freshman Diary, Part 1

Linus Pauling’s childhood and adolescence would not be classified as typical, especially by today’s standards. From a very young age, his life was largely defined by an immense interest in his education and an incredible work ethic. On top of devouring every book he could get his hands on, breezing through his normal school work, [...]

Period of Transition: Pauling in Corvallis

Corvallis, the home of Oregon State University, sits adjacent to the Willamette River in the central Willamette Valley. Nestled between Portland and Eugene, and a reasonable distance from both the Pacific Ocean and the Cascade mountain range, Corvallis offers close proximity to a large variety of outdoor activities and big city accommodations while maintaining the [...]

Checking in on Condon

Over time we have written with some frequency about Condon, Oregon, the small farming community where Linus Pauling spent much of his youth.  And though we have come know a fair amount about the history of this little town in Gilliam County, it was not until recently that the Blog had an opportunity to actually [...]

Lucile Pauling (1904-1992)

Less is known of the youngest Pauling sibling than is the case with Linus and Pauline Pauling. What can be said is that, of Herman and Belle Pauling’s children, Lucile—quiet, shy, and warmhearted—was the least hardheaded of the three. Always unsettled when trouble arose between family members, she often took on the role [...]

Pauline Pauling (1902-2003)

My name is Pauline Darling Pauling Stockton Ney Dunbar Emmett, and you can see I’ve had an interesting life…
-Pauline Pauling Emmett, 1994.
The sister of one distinguished scientist and later the wife of another, Pauline Darling Pauling, the second oldest of the Herman and Belle Pauling’s children, led a long and eventful life. Once a [...]

Pauling’s Best Friend: Lloyd Jeffress

As a child, Linus Pauling had relatively few friends. After moving from Condon, Oregon to Portland, the death of his father and subsequent poverty forced him to work when not in school. The remainder of his time was consumed with studying and household chores, leaving little room for companionship. Pauling, even as [...]