Washington University School of Medicine Oral Histories
Viktor Hamburger Oral History
Interviewer
Dale Purves, MD
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Summary
Viktor Hamburger was interviewed Dale Purves on June 30, 1983 for approximately 80 minutes.
Scope and Content
Viktor Hamburger discusses major points in his long career as an embryologist. He talks about his early work in Germany with Hans Spemann and the study of the organizer effect, his experience coming to the United States in 1932 as a Rockefeller fellow and staying on after Hitler's "cleansing of the professions" in Germany and joining the faculty of Washington University and his research there. Hamburger discusses his colleague Rita Levi-Montalcini and their discovery of naturally occurring neuronal death, his work with Levi-Montalcini and Stanley Cohen on the discovery of nerve growth factor (NGF), and his study of animal behavior development and motility.
Biographical Information: Interviewee
Viktor Hamburger was a German American biologist who was born in 1900. Hamburger attended the Universities of Breslau, Heidelberg, Munich, and Freiburg, receiving his PhD in zoology under the supervision of Hans Spemann in 1925. He came to Chicago in 1932 as a Rockefeller fellow to work in Frank R. Lillie's laboratory at the University of Chicago, studying the embryology of the chick embryo. While in Chicago, Hamburger was dismissed from his faculty position in Germany due to the rising Nazi party's policies, and he chose to remain in the United States. In 1935, Hamburger joined Washington University as an assistant professor of zoology. He served as chairman of the Department of Biology from 1941 to 1966. Though he retired as professor emeritus in 1969, Hamburger continued his research until the mid-1980s. Hamburger is best known for his work in experimental embryology, neuroembryology and the study of programmed cell death.
Biographical Information: Interviewer
Dale Purves, MD earned his doctoral degree from Harvard Medical School and took a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Neurobiology from 1968 to 1971. Purves joined the faculty of Washington University School of Medicine in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics in 1971, and remained in that role until 1990, when he founded the Department of Neurobiology at Duke University. Purves was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1989.
Interview Date
1983-06-30
Collection Identifier
OH067
Length
Approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Restrictions
Users wishing to publish (in whole, or in part) content taken from the audio or transcript of this oral history interview must request, sign, and return a Statement of Use form to the Becker Archives. For detailed information regarding publication and use of this oral history, contact the Becker Archives (arb@wusm.wustl.edu).
Recommended Citation
Viktor Hamburger Oral History, OH067, Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives, Washington University in St. Louis.
Disclaimer
The Becker Archives provides access to this oral history interview as a record of the past. This interview reflects the attitudes, perspectives, and beliefs of the interview participants, which may reflect outdated, biased, and offensive views and opinions. The Becker Archives does not endorse the views expressed in this interview, which may contain materials offensive to some users.
