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Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine Records, 1901-2010

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine
Title
Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine Records
Dates
1901-2010 (inclusive)
1973-1996 (bulk)
Quantity
75.60 cubic feet, 119 boxes, including 55 cubic foot boxes, 1 oversized box, and 2 oversized folders., (3 VHS tapes, 134 cassette tapes, and 5 3.5-inch floppy disks.)
Collection Number
MSS LPISM
Summary
The Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine Records detail the research and administrative activities of LPISM from the time of its founding in 1973 to its move to Oregon State University and rebranding as the Linus Pauling Institute in 1996, and later dissolution as a formal legal entity. Based in Palo Alto or the surrounding area for its entire history, the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine was primarily dedicated to the study of orthomolecular medicine and, in particular, the potential therapeutic use of vitamin C in the treatment of conditions ranging from the common cold to cancer. The Institute's scientific pursuits are documented through research notebooks, laboratory data, scientific photographs, patent files, grant applications and more. LPISM's administrative work is likewise chronicled through, among other material types, board meeting minutes, correspondence, legal records, donor files, annual reports, audiocassette recordings and biographical data.
Items organized into Series 22: Grants, are restricted due to the presence of confidential information. All requests for access to these materials should be directed to the University Archivist.
Repository
Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives Research Center
Special Collections and Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
97331-4501
Telephone: 5417372075
Fax: 5417378674
scarc@oregonstate.edu
Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research. The Barbara Marinacci correspondence in series 10 and items organized into Series 22: Grants, are restricted due to the presence of confidential information. All requests for access to these materials should be directed to the University Archivist.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

Born in Portland, Oregon on February 28, 1901, Linus Pauling studied at Oregon Agricultural College (now Oregon State University), graduating in 1922. He went on to receive a PhD in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), and remained there as a faculty member from 1927 to 1963. The recipient of two Nobel Prizes, Pauling was a high-profile peace activist who was particularly known for speaking out against nuclear proliferation, a stance that led to accusations of communist sympathies from certain political and media figures. The tension this engendered led to clashes with administrators and trustees at Caltech, and ultimately led to Pauling's departure.

For the better part of the next decade, Pauling struggled to find an institutional home to do his research. He initially matriculated at The Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions (CSDI) in Santa Barbara, California, remaining there from 1964-1965. CSDI's focus on bettering the world through social and political change appealed to Pauling, but too often the approach emphasized the theoretical, and the Institute was not equipped for scientific research. From 1966-1968, Pauling worked on faculty at the University of California - San Diego (UCSD), where he indulged an interest in psychobiology with a particular focus on improved diagnostic and treatment methods for mental illness. Importantly, during this time, Pauling began collaborating with his former Caltech student, Arthur Robinson. After two years in San Diego, Pauling was forced to leave due to the UC system's policies on mandatory retirement ages.

Promising to provide much of his own funding, Pauling then began a period at Stanford University, where he retained an affiliation from 1968-1974, focusing largely on his growing fascination with the potential health benefits of vitamin C. In 1973 Pauling proposed the creation of a program in orthomolecular medicine, which was turned down by Stanford administrators. This decision proved to be a deciding factor in Pauling's departure from the university and his creation of the Institute that would soon follow.

In 1973, Pauling, Arthur Robinson and Keene Dimick founded the Institute of Orthomolecular Medicine in Menlo Park, California. Within a year, the institute was renamed the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine (LPISM). Dedicated to the exploration of ideas in orthomolecular medicine – the attainment of sound health through optimal nutrition and supplementation – LPISM faced financial difficulties for much of its history, in part because of the dim view in which it was held by major granting agencies. At times, the Institute was forced to turn to private fundraising, pay cuts and personal funds contributions to make ends meet. In 1976, Richard Hicks was hired to lead the private fundraising effort. Hicks would emerge as a critical figure to the history of LPISM in later years. Later in the decade, three other major figures in Institute history – Emile Zuckerkandl, Steve Lawson and Ewan Cameron – were brought on board.

Trouble hit the Institute in 1978 when the results of a Mayo Clinic study on the treatment of cancer with ascorbic acid indicated that vitamin C did nothing to halt the progression of the disease. (Cameron and Pauling's book, Cancer and Vitamin C was published in 1979 as a rebuttal of sorts.) That same year, a disagreement over research methodologies led Pauling to fire Arthur Robinson from the Institute's staff and brought about a lengthy and expensive legal battle that was ultimately settled out of court. With Robinson gone, Emile Zuckerkandl was appointed Vice-Director of LPISM. In 1980, Zuckerkandl helped oversee the move of LPISM to a new space in Palo Alto.

Throughout the 1980s, LPISM pursued a wide range of research interests including, in 1987, a program led by Raxit Jariwalla on the potential effects of vitamin C on HIV/AIDS. In 1990 a German scientist, Matthias Rath, joined LPISM, and Pauling soon thereafter designated him Director of Cardiovascular Research. Not long after, Pauling and Rath published a controversial paper claiming vitamin C deficiency to be a major cause of cardiovascular disease. In the midst of this, Pauling's eldest son, Linus Pauling Jr., began to take on a more active role in the management of LPISM.

On March 21, 1991, Ewan Cameron died, and that same year Pauling was diagnosed with prostate cancer. A fiscal report issued at the end of the year showed that LPISM was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. In 1992 Emile Zuckerkandl's contract was not renewed, ending his tenure as LPISM's president. Richard Hicks, who was close to Zuckerkandl, resigned as Vice President of Financial Affairs shortly thereafter, though he accepted a new position as a member of the LPISM Board of Trustees. Zuckerkandl subsequently founded his own Institute of Medical Molecular Science, leasing space in the same building from LPISM. Following Zuckerkandl's departure, Linus Pauling Jr. was named Institute president.

His illness progressing, Pauling resigned from his leadership role at LPISM on July 23, 1992. In the wake of this announcement, the Institute's board selected Steve Lawson as Executive Officer, named Pauling its Research Director, and Linus Pauling Jr. as the Chairman of the Board. Linus Jr. immediately began working closely with Lawson to find solutions to the Institute's numerous financial problems. In particular, the duo worked hard to pare down non-orthomolecular research taking place within LPISM.

Linus Pauling died on August 19, 1994. Following his death, a flood of memorial donations came in, and a few other large donors made significant contributions due to prior work done by Hicks. As a result, LPISM was able to climb out of debt and generate sufficient funds to move to a new location. In 1996 the Linus Pauling Institute - a separate legal entity from LPISM - established itself on the campus of Oregon State University. To this day the Institute, now located in OSU's Linus Pauling Science Center, carries on the legacy of Pauling's work in medicine and nutrition. In 2003, its legal and financial issues finally resolved, the LPISM shell organization was formally disbanded.

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Content Description

The Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine (LPISM) Records document the administrative, financial, scientific research, medical research, and outreach activities in which LPISM engaged from its establishment in 1973 until its move to Oregon State University in 1996.

The collection's administrative records include both internal and external correspondence, by-laws, rule books, meeting minutes – particularly meetings of the Board of Trustees and Board of Associates – office plans, personnel documents, lease agreements, animal use protocols, and materials related to legal disputes, including depositions.

Much of the scientific research content has been organized by subject into series, including Vitamin C and Cancer Research; HIV/AIDS Research; Mass Spectrometry; and Assorted Orthomolecular Research. Organized within these series are a significant volume of experimental work involving mice and other investigations focusing on psychobiological health. Research data and DNA sequencing images are likewise included. Material types held in the research-intensive series include reprints, patent files, and biographical materials. An additional collection of the Institute's research reprints are described as a discrete series. Likewise, more than 250 research notebooks have been organized together, as have Arthur Robinson's research and correspondence (additional Robinson materials can be found in Series 20 - Legal).

LPISM's public outreach activities are also detailed in this collection. Donor letters and correspondence related to health concerns are available, as is documentation of the Institute's relationship with major financial partners including Japanese businessman Ryochi Sasakawa and the Elizabeth Arden company. Materials related to the publication of two books by Linus Pauling,Vitamin C, The Common Cold and the Flu and How to Live Longer and Feel Better, are also included. Audio-visual materials - primarily audiocassette tapes - photographs and a small volume of born digital content round out the collection.

Access to grant materials held in the collection is restricted due to the presence of confidential information. All requests for access to this material should be directed to the University Archivist. All other materials in this collection are open for research.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine Records (MSS LPISM), Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine Records are arranged into 24 series: 1. Board Materials, 1972-1997; 2. Administrative, 1941-1996; 3. Financial, 1970-2005; 4. Patents, 1968-2003; 5. Facilities, 1967-2004; 6. Animal Care and Use, 1972-1996; 7. Arthur Robinson Materials, 1950-1982; 8. Research Reprints, 1940-1991; 9. External Correspondence, 1972-2001; 10. Biographical and Researcher Files, 1901-2008; 11. Vitamin C and Cancer Research, 1967-2010; 12. HIV/AIDS Research, 1985-1996; 13. Cardiovascular Research, 1964-2000; 14. Assorted Orthomolecular Research, 1963-1996; 15. Mass Spectrometry, 1961-1995; 16. Research Notebooks, 1967-1997; 17. Collaboration with Elizabeth Arden, Inc., 1992-1997; 18. Public Relations and Donors, 1944-1999; 19. Events and Seminars, 1932-1996; 20. Legal, 1943-2007; 21. Linus Pauling Book Materials, 1967-2003; 22. Grants [RESTRICTED], 1971-1997; 23. Audio-Visual and Electronic Records, 1974-1994; and 24. Photographs and Slides, 1976-1997.

Acquisition Information

These materials were donated to SCARC by the Linus Pauling Institute in 2017.

Processing Note

Batches of medical records and duplicate publications were removed from this collection during processing.

Related Materials

The Ava Helen and Linus Pauling Papers (MSS Pauling) contain an extensive body of records documenting the activities of the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine, as well as the work of many of its employees, including Ewan Cameron, Zelek Herman, Rick Hicks, Steve Lawson, Linus Pauling, Jr., Matthias Rath, Arthur Robinson, and Emile Zuckerkandl. MSS Pauling likewise holds materials generated by Pauling in the writing of multiple books.

SCARC is also home to the Ewan Cameron Papers (MSS Cameron) as well as additional Arthur Robinson materials described in the Theodore Rockwell Papers (MSS Rockwell). Oral history interviews with Linus Pauling, Jr. and Steve Lawson are held in the History of Science Oral History Collection (OH 17), and additional interviews with Linus Pauling are available in the History of Oregon State University Oral Histories and Sound Recordings (OH 03) and the Thomas Hager Papers (MSS Hager).

Additional materials related to LPISM and its successor organization, the Linus Pauling Institute, are available in the Oregon State University Memorabilia Collection (MC), the Research Office Records (RG 170), the College of Science Records (RG 24), the President's Office Records (RG 13), and the Oregon State University Sesquicentennial Oral History Collection (OH 26).

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Finding Aid Authors: Helena Egbert, Maya Bergmann, Genevieve Connolly, Katy Roach, Maxine Deibele, and Chris Petersen.
2022

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