Daniel E. Koshland, Jr. papers, circa 1949-2007, (bulk 1965-2007)

Summary

Creators:

Koshland, Daniel

Abstract:

Papers of Daniel Koshland, pioneering biochemist and former faculty at the University of California, Berkeley.

Extent:

Number of containers: 28 cartons (Linear feet: 35)

Language:

Collection materials are in English

Background

Scope and content:

The collection, which mostly dates from the 1960s through 2007, consists of seven series: Correspondence; Koshland Lab; Writings; Teaching; Grants; Subject Files; Biographical, Professional, and Personal; and Photographs, Slides, and Audiovisual. The correspondence, which includes general correspondence, Science Magazine correspondence, and Department of Biochemistry correspondence, dates from 1963 to 2007 and is arranged chronologically. Most of Koshland's correspondence between 2003 and 2007 is unsorted. Koshland Lab materials are mostly related to work done by post-doctoral fellows in Koshland's lab in the 1990s and 2000s, though there are earlier materials relating to Albert Goldbeter. Writings in the collection include copies of Koshland editorials for Science Magazine, reprints of his articles, and an assortment of other manuscripts and articles. The collection also contains one folder of photographs, including images of Koshland, and a series of teaching slides.

Biographical / historical:

Daniel E. Koshland, Jr. (1920-2007), pioneering biochemist, was educated at the University of California and the University of Chicago. While in Chicago, Koshland worked on the Manhattan Project as part of a team that successfully purified plutonium. In 1965, Koshland joined the Biochemistry faculty at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1966, Koshland published what would become a classic paper, "Comparison of experimental binding data and theoretical models in proteins containing subunits." In the 1970s, Koshland's lab moved its focus to exploring bacterial chemotaxis. In 1984, he and Albert Goldbeter introduced the concept of "ultrasensitivity." In addition, Koshland was an active administrator on campus, serving as chair of the biochemistry department in the mid-1970s and instituting a reorganization of the campus' biology faculty in the 1980s. In 1985, Koshland was appointed editor of Science Magazine, a post he retained until the mid-1990s. Koshland was married to Marian (Bunny) Koshland, also an accomplished scientist. Koshland and his wife were active philanthropists for science. As one of the heirs to the Levi Strauss fortune, Koshland helped finance science buildings on the UC Berkeley campus as well as at Haverford College. Koshland also endowed and helped design the Marian Koshland Science Museum in Washington, D.C.

Acquisition information:

Portions of the Daniel E. Koshland, Jr. papers were gifted to the Bancroft Library by Daniel E. Koshland, Jr. in 1998. Other portions were transferred to the Bancroft Library from Daniel E. Koshland, Jr.'s office in 1983 and 2008.

Physical location:

Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

Rules or conventions:

Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

Location of this collection:

UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library

University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft Library

Berkeley, CA 94720-6000, US

Contact:

510-642-6481

bancref-library@berkeley.edu

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