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##### August 21, 1994 OBITUARY ## Linus C. Pauling Dies at 93; Chemist and Voice for Peace ##### By RICHARD SEVERO Linus C. Pauling, a brilliant chemist and an untiring political activist who received one Nobel Prize for chemistry and another for peace, died on Friday at his ranch in the Big Sur area of Northern California. He was 93. The cause was cancer, said Steve Lawson, chief executive officer of the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine in Palo Alto, Calif. Dr. Pauling received the prize for chemistry in 1954, as a result of his research into the nature of the chemical bond, the force that gives atoms the cohesiveness to form the molecules that in turn become the basis of all physical matter. In 1962, at age 61, he received the Nobel Peace Prize. The award's citation acclaimed him for his work since 1946 "not only against the testing of nuclear weapons, not only against the spread of these armaments, not only against their very use, but against all warfare as a means of solving international conflicts." Dr. Pauling was also said to have provided powerful impetus to others in achieving what many came to regard as the medical discovery of the century. That was the determination of the structure of DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, the genetic material in all living organisms. To those who eventually won the race to solve DNA, Dr. Pauling was seen at the time as the closest rival. Had he been the victor, he, no doubt, would have been the recipient of a third Nobel Prize. Dr. Pauling's scientific genius was accompanied by a strong penchant for dissent. He touched off a debate among scientists in his later years, for example, by vigorously advocating that vitamin C, if taken in large-enough doses, would build up the immune systems in humans and protect them against infectious diseases. In the 1950's, he was a primary shaper of the antinuclear-testing movement, and he was actively involved in the antiwar movement in the 1960's. By the time he received the chemistry prize at the age of 53, he had long been recognized as a chemist's chemist. By the age of 30, he had already published 50 papers based on original chemical research and had risen to a full professorship at the California Institute of Technology. His years at the institute, from 1927 to 1963, marked the most productive period of his professional career. In 1931, when Dr. Pauling received the American Chemical Society's Award in Pure Chemistry, Arthur A. Noyes, president of the Gates Chemical Laboratory at Pasadena, Calif., prophetically called the young scientist "a rising star, who may yet win the Nobel Prize." Dr. Pauling's grasp of the nature of chemical bonds and molecular structure was so formidable that Albert Einstein, whom he met that year, said he would have to "brush up on the subject" of chemical bonds before again trying to engage the young Dr. Pauling in a conversation. In 1939 Dr. Pauling published "The Nature of the Chemical Bond," a book that won worldwide recognition among scientific researchers as a landmark work. Throughout the 1930's, he used quantum mechanics, the theoretical framework used to explain the structure of the atom and the motion of atomic particles, to investigate chemical bonding. He asserted that the "resonance," or internal vibrations of atoms, gave molecules their cohesiveness. Joseph E. Mayer, a professor of chemistry at Columbia University, once praised him as a "rarity among scientists -- a chemist with mathematical and geometrical intuition." Growing Evidence Of Social Conscience While Dr. Pauling was winning international plaudits as a theoretical chemist, he was also developing a reputation as a scientist with a social conscience. But some critics believed he sometimes overlooked national concerns in advocating social policies and in other actions. In World War II he ignored the widespread resentment against Japanese-Americans and hired a young man whose parents were born in Japan as a gardener for his home in Pasadena. Vandals later defaced the house with anti-Japanese slogans. By 1949 he had declared himself an advocate of peace and helped organize a Congress for Peace, held in Mexico City. His colleagues in this venture included Dr. W. E. B. DuBois, the singer Paul Robeson, the actor Charlie Chaplin and O. John Rogge, a former Assistant Attorney General of the United States. The State Department denounced the group as "Moscow-directed," asserting that it was "devoted to providing an apologia for the Moscow point of view." The next year, Dr. Pauling joined with seven other prominent Americans to start a "peace crusade," a forerunner of peace movements that were to win the support of many Americans two decades later. In explaining his action, he said that the possibility of war was becoming greater "with the continued increase in man's powers of destruction" and that "it is the duty of every American to work for a peaceful solution of international arguments." He incurred the suspicion of Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, the Wisconsin Republican who was chairman of Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and Mr. McCarthy accused him of having a "well nigh incredible" record of membership in Communist front organizations. Dr. Pauling denied under oath that he was ever a Communist. Partly as a result of the Senator's attack, the State Department denied Dr. Pauling a passport in April 1952, holding that it would be contrary to national interest to permit him to travel abroad. There seemed to be a feeling that Dr. Pauling might go to the Soviet Union. In fact, he wanted only to go to London with his wife, Ava, to participate in a conference on the structure of proteins. Dr. Pauling said the State Department informed him that his passport application had been denied because of the suspicion that he was a Communist. Attacked by Stalin As Anti-Marxist The suspicion that Dr. Pauling might be sympathetic to the Soviet Union persisted, even though his theory of resonance had made him a persona non grata in the Soviet Union, where Stalin believed that the theory was incompatible with Communist ideology. In 1951 the Russians denounced the theory as "pseudo- scientific," "vicious," and an example of world outlooks "hostile to the Marxist view." Dr. Pauling's book, "The Nature of the Chemical Bond," was regarded as hostile to the dialectical materialism of Marx, Engels and Lenin. Dr. Pauling countered by calling Stalinist science distorted. By July 1952, after a number of efforts, Dr. Pauling managed to obtain a "limited passport" for travel to Britain and France. In 1954, he received an unrestricted passport so he could travel to Stockholm to receive his first Nobel Prize. After returning from Stockholm, Dr. Pauling was as outspoken as ever. He castigated the Government for its treatment of J. Robert Oppenheimer, a crucial scientist in the development of the atomic bomb, whose security clearance had been withdrawn because of concerns about his patriotism. Dr. Pauling called it "the worst case of national ingratitude I know." Alluding to Dr. Oppenheimer's opposition to the Government's crash program to develop a hydrogen bomb, he declared, "Advisers to the Government, if they are to be valuable, must be free to express their opinions." Throughout the 1950's, Dr. Pauling seemed a scientist in perpetual motion, pursuing research in such areas as possible biochemical aspects of schizophrenia, the nature of nucleic acids, and hereditary faults in body chemistry, sickle-cell anemia, that were caused by abnormal molecules. In the early 1950's, Dr. James D. Watson and Sir Francis Crick, were constantly looking over their shoulders at the body of the research of Linus Pauling with a mixture of admiration and apprehension. Dr. Watson and Sir Francis were at the time feverishly trying to determine that structure that is crucial to the construction of all living cells -- DNA -- and Dr. Pauling was pursuing the same goal. Writing years later in "The Double Helix," a book about the discovery, Dr. Watson described Dr. Pauling's presentation of work, showing, in part, the helical structure of proteins. The passage reveals not only the high esteem in which Dr. Pauling was held by his colleagues but also the intense envy he sometimes engendered. "Pauling's talk was done with his usual flair," Dr. Watson wrote. "The words came out as if he had been in show business all his life. A curtain kept his model hidden until near the end of his lecture, when he proudly unveiled his latest creation. Then, with his eyes twinkling, Linus explained the specific characteristics . . . that made his model uniquely beautiful. "This show, like all of his dazzling performances, delighted the younger students in attendance. There was no one like Linus in all the world. The combination of his prodigious mind and his infectious grin was unbeatable. "Several fellow professors, however, watched this performance with mixed feelings. Seeing Linus jumping up and down on the demonstration table and moving his arms like a magician about to pull a rabbit out of his shoe made them feel inadequate. If only he had shown a little humility, it would have been so much easier to take!" Though Dr. Pauling's earlier protein research had laid groundwork for the DNA discovery, his theories in that area did not ultimately prove correct. Dr. Watson's and Sir Francis' proposition, that the basic genetic strands of DNA take the shape of a double helix, was validated in 1953, and they were awarded the Nobel Prize nine years later. A Traditionalist Or a Radical? All the while, Dr. Pauling was also pursuing the cause of peace. He pressed his attack on the pointlessness of war and what he regarded as a major reason for the persistence of war: the hypocrisy and short-sightedness of the world's politicians. Calling war outmoded, he said, "The major world powers have reached a standoff and they will have to give up war as a maneuver of power politics." At other times, however, he expressed doubt that this would happen -- at least not before one, last, major conflagration. After the McCarthy era began to wane, he remained sensitive to suggestions that he was politically radical. His admirers said any implication that Dr. Pauling was somehow anti-American was unfair, regarding him, instead, as the quintessential American. As for radicalism, they contended that, as the son of an Oregon druggist, he was inculcated with the values of small-town life in the Far West and was at heart a traditionalist. Linus Carl Pauling was born Feb. 28, 1901, in Portland, Ore. His independent streak and his insistence on standing by his beliefs became apparent early in life. He never received a real high school diploma because he dropped out of Washington High School in Portland as a form of protest against taking courses he regarded as pointless. But he gained entrance to Oregon Agricultural College without a high school diploma, and the young man majoring in chemical engineering was quickly recognized as a prodigy. He received his bachelor of science degree in 1922, and the following year he married Ava Helen Miller. Two years later he received his Ph.D. from Caltech. In later years, Dr. Pauling's candid criticism of the United States angered conservative Americans. In 1958, for example, he appeared on a television interview program where he was asked by a reporter how the United States could trust the Soviet Union enough to sign a test ban treaty with them since they had "broken so many agreements." "Well, the United States has broken many agreements, too, international agreements and treaties," he replied. "Nations keep agreements, keep their treaties so long as they continue to do them good." Around 1960, he began a campaign to obtain the signatures of scientists opposed to nuclear testing. A total of 11,021 scientists in 49 countries signed the petitions. The tone of the petition and its success angered some people in Government, and in 1960, Dr. Pauling was subpoenaed to testify before the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee "on Communist participation in, or support of, a propaganda campaign against nuclear testing." "I don't know anything" about Communist activity," he said, emphasizing that his opposition to nuclear testing was part of his opposition to nuclear war and his longstanding concern about the biological effects of radioactivity. Indeed, Dr. Pauling was so concerned about the harmful effects of radioactivity that he warned that people should "change dentists" if theirs recommended annual or semiannual full mouth X-rays for children. He refused to divulge the names of scientists who had helped him circulate the petitions calling for a nuclear test ban, asserting that he feared that the Government would subject his colleagues to reprisals. "My conscience," he said, "will not allow me to protect myself by sacrificing these idealistic young people. I am not going to do it!" The Senate subcommittee excused Dr. Pauling without issuing orders for him to divulge the names of those who had helped him and the matter was dropped, thus avoiding a showdown. When Dr. Pauling won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962, it was the first time anyone had won two Nobel prizes since Marie Curie did it in 1903 and 1911, and unlike Mme. Curie, Dr. Pauling won his alone, not sharing it with another scientist, as she did. The honor apparently moved Washington High, the school that had denied Dr. Pauling a diploma in his youth, to award him an honorary diploma. Receiving Honors And Speaking Out Winning both the Nobel Peace Prize and an honorary diploma from Washington High did nothing to mellow Dr. Pauling or to cause him to rest on his laurels. Indeed, these new distinctions seemed only to encourage him in his efforts to prevent nuclear war. In April 1962, President and Mrs. Kennedy invited Dr. Pauling and 48 other Nobel laureates to the White House for dinner. It was a most impressive gathering, but Dr. Pauling joined it only after picketing the White House with members of the Woman's Strike for Peace, who were protesting the resumption by the United States of atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons. The American press was not so sure the Nobel committee had chosen the right candidate. In an editorial titled, "The Nobel Peacenik Prize," The Herald Tribune in New York said that "Award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Dr. Pauling, whatever the committee's reasons, inevitably associates this semisacrosanct honor with the extravagant posturings of a placarding peacenik." The New York Times, in an editorial, noted: "Professor Pauling has been a persistent and effective agitator in his fight for international peace and against the atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons. He has not always been wise in his choice of tactics and he has sometimes been reckless." But The Times agreed with Gunnar Jahn, chairman of the Norwegian parliamentary committee that chose Dr. Pauling for the prize, that it was reasonable to ask if a nuclear test ban treaty would have been signed without the likes of Dr. Pauling. He left Caltech in 1963 and went to the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions. In 1967 he moved to the University of California at San Diego and remained there until 1969, when he switched to Stanford University. After his 70th birthday, when he was forced to retire from Stanford, he set up the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine. His collaborator in the venture was Dr. Arthur B. Robinson, one of his former students at Caltech. He thus began a phase of his life that proved to be as controversial as his earlier periods of political activism. Creating a Furor On Vitamin C A scientific debate was touched off by his book "Vitamin C and the Common Cold," published in 1970, in which he proposed that massive doses of vitamin C could prevent the common cold. "That suggestion, made by so pre-eminent a scientist as Linus Pauling, caused such a run on vitamin C that pharmacies were unable to maintain adequate supplies," The Wall Street Journal reported. "Seldom has a pronouncement caused such a run on anything." The debate droned on through the 1970's, with some scientists supporting Dr. Pauling and others saying that his advice was speculative. By the middle of the decade, a number of controlled experiments had found no cold-preventive benefits from vitamin C. Dr. Pauling, with characteristic independence, then elaborated on his original thesis and suggested that the vitamin might also be of help in treating cancer. This touched off still more spirited response from the scientific community. In 1979 a report compiled by a research team from the Mayo Clinic said that experiments on 150 patients with advanced cancer showed no benefits from vitamin C. The findings were published in The New England Journal of Medicine. In addition to the public turmoil about his work, there were private problems, too. Dr. Robinson, the former student, was dismissed from the Linus Pauling Institute. He responded by charging that he, not Dr. Pauling, had done the experimental work at the institute, and that "Linus has not personally contributed significant research work on vitamin C and human health." Among the people who had worked with Dr. Pauling in the antinuclear movement was his wife, who had become in her own right a vigorous proponent of peace and human rights. On Dec. 7, 1981, after 58 years of marriage and rearing four children, she died at the age 77. To the end, Linus Pauling, almost always wearing his signature beret, remained irreverent, iconoclastic and outspoken. In 1976, shortly after he had turned 75, he addressed a meeting of the American Chemical Society, which was observing its centennial. He tried to predict what might be expected of chemistry and of the world in the century to come. Although he described himself as "optimistic," he went on to say: "I am forced, as I think about what has happened in the world during my lifetime and as I observe governments in their processes of making decisions, to conclude that the coming century is probably going to be one in which the amount of suffering reaches its maximum." "Unless we are wiser than we have shown ourselves to be in the past," he added, "we chemists and we citizens, we advisers of government and we government officials, there will be a catastrophe during the coming century, perhaps a series of catastrophes. The human race might survive. By 2076, we shall, I hope, have solved these problems, and from then on we may have a world in which every person who is born will have the opportunity to lead a good life." Surviving Dr. Pauling are three sons, Dr. Peter of Wales, Linus Jr. of Honolulu, Crellin of Portola Valley, Calif.; a daughter, Linda Pauling Kamb of Pasadena; a sister, Pauline Emmett of Salt Lake City; 15 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.
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