Sol Spiegelman Papers
Sol Spiegelman Papers
Biographical material, correspondence, laboratory notebooks, published and unpublished writings, academic course material, subject files, memoranda, and photographic media (113.5 linear feet; 1929-1983) document Sol Spiegelman's professional career as a microbiologist.
Spiegelman collected publicity material generated by his experiments. Much of this information can be found in Series 1: Personal and Biographical, which contains a wealth of news articles about his achievements. It also provides biographical notes, manuscripts and extensive obituaries collected shortly after his death. His many awards and honors are documented in Series 5: Professional Activities in the Awards and Honors sub-series. A significant component of the collection is Spiegelman's professional correspondence files, dating from the 1940s until his death in 1983 (Series 2). Much of this correspondence illustrates Spiegelman's active involvement in the scientific community, as well as the close personal relationships he developed with many of his colleagues.
Laboratory Notes and Notebooks comprise nearly fifty percent of the collection, which are located in Series 3. The series contains multi-volume laboratory notebooks from 1937 to 1976 and are authored by Spiegelman and his laboratory colleagues. The notebooks consist of the protocols, raw data, and conclusions drawn from experiments in enzyme synthesis, DNA-RNA hybridization, viral RNA, and cancerous tumors. The most extensive group of notebooks belonged to Spiegelman and covers a variety of experiments from the first two decades of his career. The second largest group of notebooks was kept by Dr. Ichiro Haruna as he worked with Spiegelman from 1962 to 1966 in the discovery of the RNA-replicating enzyme in viruses.
Copies of Spiegelman's reprints encompassing his entire career can be found in Series 4: Writings. The series contains articles about some of his most renowned experiments including RNA-DNA hybridization and explorations in the causes of human breast cancer. The majority of these articles appear in eight bound volumes entitled "Spiegelman's Collected Reprints."
Documents concerning Spiegelman's role as an educator can be found in Series 6: Academic Career. The series includes teaching materials in several subjects dating primarily from his time at the University of Illinois. Records of the many curricula and educational issues committees with which Spiegelman was involved can be found in the Committees sub-series of Series 5: Professional Activities.
- Restrictions
-
Portions of the collection are restricted according to HMD's Access to Health Information of Individuals policy. Contact the Reference Staff for information regarding access. For access to the policy and application form, please visit https://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/manuscripts/phi.pdf.
- Dates
- Creation: 1929-1983
- Extent
- 114.21 Linear Feet (96 boxes)
- Related Names
- Spiegelman, Sol, 1914-1983
- Doi, Roy H.
- Columbia University. Institute of Cancer Research
- University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign campus). Department of Microbiology
- Washington University (Saint Louis, Mo.)
- Language of Materials
- English
- Script
- Latn
This series contains material collected by Spiegelman and his office staff to document his professional life. It includes notes, correspondence, manuscripts, and vitae documenting Spiegelman's career. There is very little information about his personal life. The folder "Biography - S. Spiegelman" contains several general biographical manuscripts; of particular interest is the article "Contributions of S. Spiegelman to Biology and Medicine." A second folder, "Notes for an Autobiography," includes several manuscripts with slightly more information on Spiegelman's personal life. The Publicity sub-series includes news clippings, journal articles, and other publications that focus on the media coverage of Spiegelman's work. Materials within each sub-series are arranged in chronological order.
- Dates
- Creation: 1946-1983
Biographical Material, 1959-1983
- Dates
- Creation: 1959-1983
Biography, undated
- Dates
- Creation: undated
Archival Material for University of Illinois, 1965-1969
- Dates
- Creation: 1965-1969
Notes for an Autobiography, 1968-1974
- Dates
- Creation: 1968-1974
Post-Doctoral Training Experience, circa 1977
- Dates
- Creation: circa 1977
Curriculum Vitae, 1959-1980
- Dates
- Creation: 1959-1980
Bibliography, 1983
- Dates
- Creation: 1983
Obituaries, 1983
- Dates
- Creation: 1983
Obituaries -- Tributes, 1983
- Dates
- Creation: 1983
Cancer Research, 1983
- Dates
- Creation: 1983
Hybridomas in Human Systems, 1983
- Dates
- Creation: 1983
"Microbiologist at Columbia and Geneticist, Dies", 1983
- Dates
- Creation: 1983
Publicity, 1946-1983
- Dates
- Creation: 1946-1983
1946-1948
- Dates
- Creation: 1946-1948
University of Illinois, 1949-1969
- Dates
- Creation: 1949-1969
Columbia University, 1969-1974
- Dates
- Creation: 1969-1974
1975
- Dates
- Creation: 1975
1976-1981
- Dates
- Creation: 1976-1981
Copies of Articles by Graham Chedd, 1972-1977
- Dates
- Creation: 1972-1977
Cancer Centers -- Cancer Research, 1979
- Dates
- Creation: 1979
Patent Announcements, 1983
- Dates
- Creation: 1983
This series contains Spiegelman's professional and personal correspondence with both individuals and organizations, covering various aspects of his career. Included are correspondence, articles, and vitae, as well as sensitive materials such as peer reviews, personnel records, and letters of recommendation, all of which are restricted. The series is arranged alphabetically by last name. Letters from Spiegelman's irregular correspondents including other scientists, fans, admirers, and laypersons are located in a number of "general" folders, arranged by the first letter of the correspondent's last name.
- Dates
- Creation: 1946-1983
Assorted Correspondence, 1965-1966
- Dates
- Creation: 1965-1966
Assorted Correspondence, NIH -- Leukemia, 1968
- Dates
- Creation: 1968
Assorted Correspondence, 1975
- Dates
- Creation: 1975
A -- General, 1971-1981
- Dates
- Creation: 1971-1981
Acs, George, 1974
- Dates
- Creation: 1974
Anfinsen, C.B., 1979
- Dates
- Creation: 1979
Arya, Suresh, 1978
- Dates
- Creation: 1978
Augustin, Andrei, 1980
- Dates
- Creation: 1980
Avila, Jesus, 1974-1976
- Dates
- Creation: 1974-1976
B -- General, 1971-1976
- Dates
- Creation: 1971-1976
Balda, B. R., 1973-1978
- Dates
- Creation: 1973-1978
Banerjee, Amiya, 1979
- Dates
- Creation: 1979
Bassel, Jr., Byron A., 1963-1969
- Dates
- Creation: 1963-1969
Baulieu, Etienne, 1980
- Dates
- Creation: 1980
Beaudreau, George, 1964-1980
- Dates
- Creation: 1964-1980
Becker, Yechiel, 1975-1976
- Dates
- Creation: 1975-1976
Citation
Cite Item
Spiegelman, Sol. Sol Spiegelman Papers. 1929-1983. Located in: Modern Manuscripts Collection, History of Medicine Division, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD; MS C 561.
Cite Item Description
Spiegelman, Sol. Sol Spiegelman Papers. 1929-1983. Located in: Modern Manuscripts Collection, History of Medicine Division, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD; MS C 561. https://findingaids.nlm.nih.gov/repositories/4/resources/947 Accessed July 22, 2025.