Guide to the Henry Borsook Papers, 1958-1983
Processed by Jennifer K. Stine; machine-readable finding aid created by
Brooke Dykman Dockter
Archives
California Institute of Technology
1200 East California Blvd.
Mail Code 015A-74
Pasadena, CA 91125
Phone: (626) 395-2704
Fax: (626) 793-8756
Email: archives@caltech.edu
URL: http://archives.caltech.edu
© 1998
California Institute of Technology. All rights reserved.
Guide to the Henry Borsook Papers, 1958-1983
Archives
California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, California
Contact Information:
- Archives
- California Institute of Technology
- 1200 East California Blvd.
- Mail Code 015A-74
- Pasadena, CA 91125
- Phone: (626) 395-2704
- Fax: (626) 793-8756
- Email: archives@caltech.edu
- URL: http://archives.caltech.edu
- Processed by:
- Jennifer K. Stine
- Date Completed:
- May 8, 1996
- Encoded by:
- Brooke Dykman Dockter
© 1998 California Institute of Technology. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Henry Borsook Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1958-1983
Creator:
Borsook, Henry
Extent: Linear feet: 2.5
Repository:
California Institute of Technology. Archives.
Pasadena, California 91125
Language:
English.
Administrative Information
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to the California Institute of Technology Archives. All
requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing
to the Head of the Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the
California Institute of Technology Archives as the owner of the physical items and is not
intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be
obtained by the reader.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item, Box and file number], Henry Borsook Papers, Archives, California
Institute of Technology.
Biography
Henry Borsook, 1897-1984, was a Professor of Biochemistry at Caltech from 1929 to 1968.
His major contributions were in the areas of protein synthesis and nutrition. At Caltech,
Borsook was twice chairman of the faculty, chaired the student health committee for many
years, and sponsored the Anaximandrian Society at his home. Borsook's interest in
proteins led him, in the early 1930s, to a new theory about their metabolism. At that
time, scientists believed the proteins were probably very stable; Borsook demonstrated
there was a continual interchange of proteins. His 1940 book,
Vitamins: What They
Are and What They Will Do for You,
was among the first to present contemporary
nutritional ideas to a popular audience. Borsook showed that a good diet consisted not of
"food" but of certain amounts of specific nutrients such as proteins, vitamins, calories,
and the like. During World War II he served on the Food and Nutrition Board, and helped
to draw up the table of Recommended Daily Allowances. At this time he also developed
multipurpose food (MPF), an enriched meal based on soybeans. The Meals for Millions
Foundation, of which Borsook was a co-founder and long-time trustee, distributed MPF
first to post-war Europe and later to underdeveloped areas. Throughout his lifetime,
Borsook championed the idea that a good diet was not tied to eating specific foods, but
could be scientifically manufactured. After retiring from Caltech in 1968, Henry Borsook
moved his laboratory to U. C. Berkeley where he continued working until the late 1970s.
Scope and Content
The Henry Borsook Papers cover the years 1958 to 1983, but significant gaps are present.
Section 1 is incoming and outgoing correspondence primarily covering the years 1960 to
1965. It illustrates several facets of Borsook's career, including his relationships with
colleagues, graduate students, and the food and vitamin industry, most notably with the
American Institute of Baking and Miles Laboratories. Section 2 provides manuscripts and
notes, including notes for talks given in the 1970s on food and international
development. It shows the breadth of Borsook's interests and contains his book reviews
and writings on medical history and on art history. Section 3 contains papers from the
late 1970s and early 1980s related to the Meals for Millions Foundation. At the end of
the collection is a small amount of biographical material, some reprints, slides, and
several books on food and nutrition with annotations made by Borsook.
This collection came to the Archives in two parts. The correspondence files from the
1960s were found on campus by Professor Ray Owen and deposited in 1989. The manuscripts,
Meals for Millions Foundation materials, books, slides and later materials were a gift
from Eve Borsook made in 1990.
For further information related to Borsook's life see his oral history and the Papers of
the Anaximandrian Society
Additional Information
Related Collections
Title: The Proceedings of the Anaximandrian
Society,
Date: 1935-1945
Books of Henry Borsook
Some of the books that were given to Caltech in the Borsook collection have been merged
with the Archives' landmark book collection. Items may be located through CLAS, the
Caltech Libraries' automated catalogue.
-
Borsook, Henry.
Der Hungrige kann nicht warten. Berlin: Deutsche Buch-Gemeinschaft, 1968. (signed Henry Borsook)
-
Borsook, Henry.
Vitaminas. Qué son y cómo pueden beneficiarlo a Usted. Buenos Aires: Libreia Hachette, 1942. (signed Henry Borsook)
-
Borsook, Henry.
Vitamins. What They Are and How They Can Benefit You. New York: Viking Press, 1941. (signed Henry Borsook)
-
Fisher, James W., ed.
Erythropoietin.
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, vol. 149, pp. 1-583. New York: The New York Academy of Sciences, 1968. (notes and underlined passages by Borsook)
-
Frankel, Francine R.
India's Green Revolution. Economic Gains and Political Costs. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1971. (signed H. Borsook)
SECTION I: CORRESPONDENCE
PART A: GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE
Folder 1.2
American Institute of Baking
PART B: CHRONOLOGICAL CORRESPONDENCE FILES
SECTION II: TALKS, MANUSCRIPTS, NOTES
Folder 3.7
"The Humanities in Medicine"
Folder 3.10
"Loomis Colloquium" [c. 1964]
Folder 3.13
"Ultra Goes to War" -- final copy
Folder 3.14
"Understanding China's Socialist Revolution" 2/2/79
Folder 3.15
"U. S. Food Situation" [c. 1969]
Box 4, Folder 4.1
Wonseong County, Korea, 1979-81
Folder 4.5
"The World Will Need to Feed Itself"
SECTION III: MEALS FOR MILLIONS
Box 4, Folder 4.6
Operations, By-Laws, Plans
Folder 4.8
Lists of trustees, staff, 1977-81
SECTION IV: MISCELLANEOUS
Folder 4.11
List of Publications, 1947-59
Child Nutrition in Developing Countries, U. S. Dept. of State, 1969
Focus on Food Additives, General Mills, n.d.
The Village Texturizer, Meals for Millions Foundation, 1977.
Malnutrition and Poverty, by S. Reutlinger and M. Selowsky.
Teaching Nutrition in Developing Countries, Meals for Millions Foundation, 1977
Food and Your Future, by Ruth Bennett White,
Nutritive Value of Foods, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1977
Overcoming World Hunger, Presidential Commission on World Hunger, 1980