Pauling and the Rockefeller Foundation

“We are … particularly gratified that the Institute has found it possible to make a substantial contribution which will enable you to direct a larger proportion of our aid to the study of the substances of fundamental biological importance.”
- Warren Weaver to Linus Pauling, December 27, 1934.
It is obvious from much of his scientific work [...]

Pauling’s Methodology: X-ray Crystallography

“I was very fortunate in having A.A. Noyes suggest to me, or tell me, that I was to work with Roscoe Dickinson on x-ray crystallography, determination of the structure of crystals by x-ray diffraction. This technique gave for the first time detailed information about how atoms are related to other atoms in a crystal and [...]

Thinking Structurally: The Roots of Pauling’s Hemoglobin Work

“Linus Pauling is one of that select group of individuals whose lives have made a discernible impact on the contemporary world. His contributions to molecular chemistry have been substantial and fully deserving of the recognition that he received in the form of a Nobel Prize in chemistry….Pauling continued to do productive scientific work throughout his [...]

The Guggenheim Trip, Part III: Unexpected Colleagues

“The paper of Heitler and London on H2 for the first time seemed to provide a basic understanding, which could be extended to other molecules. Linus Pauling at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena soon used the valence bond method. . . . As a master salesman and showman, Linus persuaded chemists all over [...]

The Guggenheim Trip, Part II: The Growth of a Scientist

“My year in Munich was very productive. I not only got a very good grasp of quantum mechanics — by attending Sommerfeld’s lectures on the subject, as well as other lectures by him and other people in the University, and also by my own study of published papers — but in addition I was able [...]

Linus Pauling and the Birth of Quantum Mechanics

“My year in Munich was very productive. I not only got a very good grasp of quantum mechanics — by attending Sommerfeld’s lectures on the subject, as well as other lectures by him and other people in the University, and also by my own study of published papers — but in addition I was able [...]

A Classic of Twentieth-Century Science: The Nature of the Chemical Bond

“I have just returned from a short vacation for which the only books I took were a half-dozen detective stories and your ‘Chemical Bond’. I found yours the most exciting of the lot.”
- G.N. Lewis. Letter to Linus Pauling. August 25, 1939.
In the fall of 1930, Pauling began work on a determination of the structure [...]

Featured Website: Linus Pauling and the Nature of the Chemical Bond

“I consider that the field of work in which Dr. Pauling is engaged, namely the study of the chemical bond and of valence from the standpoint of modern physics, is the most important line of research in theoretical chemistry today; and I venture to believe that there is no one in the world who in [...]