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MAX LUDWIG HENNING DELBRÃCK 98 terested him since the then recent discovery of thymine dimers (e.g., 1962b; 1963b). Max also found time to talk to and encourage younger workers, and he established internal seminars which the whole Institute was supposed to attend in order to foster interactions. In addition, phage courses on the Cold Spring Harbor model were run every year from 1962 onwards, and in 1963, at Max's persuasion, a course on bacterial genetics was added (P.S.). When Max left in 1963 he agreed to maintain connections with the Institute and was appointed as Honorary Professor. For some years thereafter he returned to Cologne every year or so to give a series of lectures, or just a seminar, often on a topic outside the normal curriculum. In Starlinger's opinion, Max's Cologne period was beneficial to German biology as a whole, not only on account of the courses he instituted, but also because of his extensive travelling and lecturing. Later he was persuaded to serve as an adviser in natural science on the Founding Committee of the new University of Constance. "This led to a natural sciences faculty that was essentially all molecular biologyâeven the chemistry and physical chemistry were all molecular biology" (1). An agreement was reached with the university that he would spend one semester there in every six, but he did this only once, in the summer of 1969, when he indulged his more physical and mathematical interests (e.g., 2-D diffusion) with friends there. That was his and Manny's last long visit to Germany. PERSONALITY How can I begin to describe what Max was like to those who did not know him, for he was all things to those who did? His profound intelligence and scholarship in so many
MAX LUDWIG HENNING DELBRÃCK 99 fields of science, philosophy and the arts, all of which he regarded as a cultural unity; his blend of critical and quietspoken aloofness with outgoing gregariousness, affection, and sense of fun; his basic seriousness and childish love of practical joking; all could be seen as the essence of paradox, or as the embodiment of "natural man." This, perhaps, has been best expressed by a close colleague of Max (D.R.S.) who "always thought of Max as a human archetype." Perhaps the best way to convey an impression of Max's individuality is through a kaleodoscope of reminiscences and impressions by various friends who knew him well. I remember vividly the discussions that we had and also the discussion among the circle of friends about physics, philosophy and human problems. Max was able to attract the best and most interesting people because of his wonderful personality and his direct approach to questions of interest. Many people know him as rather acid and critical, and sometimes even arrogant. It is true that he did not well tolerate half-truths and superficial remarks, but he was a warm friend to those whom he valued, and he was always ready to help, to discuss the problems and, last but not least, to have fun with his friends (V.F.W.). He abhorred the petty and in searching for the deepest of theories insisted that we work together in a collective generous fashion. The selfish and the avaricious were not tolerated, and those unfortunate souls who could only so survive, were not for Max. . . . He also had no use for stuffiness or protocol and was never Professor or Dr. Delbrück but Max to all who would learn with him (J.D.W.; 3). He was a compassionate man, very honest, with a slow but strong and deep intelligence (Germany style); he was half philosopher, half physicist, with a scale of values very different to the common scientific man. He enjoyed life every minute. He loved to talk with people and it is remarkable how he concentrated his mind to listen to them (A.P.E.). His playfulness translated quite literally into plays, the marionette shows he put on with his children, in which in a marvelous conceit, he often took the role of Uncle Max, the fusty professor with a thick German accent.
MAX LUDWIG HENNING DELBRÃCK 100 Max was Max and sometimes he played Max. He also proposed to play Samuel Beckett, threatening to give the latter's Nobel acceptance speech for him when he failed to go to Stockholm (in 1969). He particularly admired the work of Beckett because, almost as a scientist, Beckett had reduced the complexities of human intercourse to their elements, a series of games turning in an eternal round (D.R.S.). . . .Delbrück's had been a kind of Gandhi of biology who, without possessing any temporal power at all, was an ever-present and sometimes irksome spiritual force. "What will Max think of it?" had become the central question of the molecular biology psyche (G.S.S.). Among the most memorable features of life with the Delbrück group at Caltech was the extraordinary and informal hospitality of Max and Manny in their home in Pasadena which was "open house" to all and sundry; and the famous weekend camping trips to the desert, organized by Manny, that might include undergraduates, graduates, post-docs, staff, visitors, children and dogs, with long treks up and down the hills and canyons, on which Max might unexpectedly block the path by stopping abruptly to ponder a sudden thought. After returning to camp and a welcome siesta, Manny would prepare dinner over the camp fire. "Evening brought a big fire and wild stories until each wandered into the dark to find his own bag and pile of clothes under the sky freckled with stars. Yes stars! One would occasionally wake up to see a naked Max balancing his binoculars against the car. He was charting the movement of the planets and rediscovering for himself these movements as the ancients had done it" (N.D.). In recent years Max continued to enjoy desert trips and often he and Manny would take small groups of friends for mid-week picnic walks and talks over rough country closer to Pasadena. Another more disciplinary aspect of Max's style is recalled by Seymour Benzer.
