Correspondence between Pontecorvo and Senator Hubert Horatio Humphrey concerning plans to encourage international cooperation between geneticists

Scope and Content

Humphrey was Chairman of the US Senate Subcommittee who was involved in an International Health Study. One of the interests of this Subcommittee was to develop international cooperation between geneticists and Humphrey was keen to get Pontecorvo's opinion on this. In his response Pontecorvo outlines his views on why the field of human genetics was so underdeveloped and why more research professorships should be set up to allow experimental geneticists "to develop this field".

Administrative / Biographical History

Humphrey served under President Lyndon B Johnson as the 38th Vice President of the United States from 1965-1969. He twice served as a United States Senator from Minnesota, and also served as Democratic Majority Whip. Prior to this he was Mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota from 1945 to 1949.