WU Libraries Biology Library : Viktor Hamburger Virtual Exhibit

Washington University Biology Library

Viktor Hamburger Virtual Exhibit

Return to Biology Library Special Exhibits page

There is a small permanent display of some honors, photographs and other memorabilia near the New Books Shelf in the Biology Library

	Selected medals and honors Several on permanent display in the Biology Library	Selected publications by Viktor Hamburger
	Selected publications about Viktor Hamburger	Other items
	Viktor Hamburger Centenary Symposium	Related links

Some photos of the exhibit.

Selected medals and honors

Alumni Federation of Washington University Faculty Award, February 24, 1962.: Entry in Founder's Day Banquet program, February 24, 1962: "Professor Hamburger has been with the University since 1935. His field of research is experimental neuro-embryology. He teaches this subject and others closely related to it including special areas of anatomy and genetics. Professor Hamburger is a quiet and effective teacher whose great ability has left its mark on hundreds of students."
Honorary doctorate, Washington University, May 21, 1976.: Photograph. From May, 1976 Commencement program: "Viktor Hamburger is Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Biology at Washington University. Born in a small town in Silesia, Germany, he attended the Universities of Breslau, Heidelberg, Munich and Freiburg. At the University of Freiburg, he studied with the renowned biologist, Hans Spemann, Nobel Laureate. Professor Hamburger earned his doctoral degree in zoology (experimental embryology) at the University of Freiburg in 1925. The recipient of a Rockefeller Fellowship in 1932, Professor Hamburger came to the United States to study at the University of Chicago with Dr. Frank R. Lillie. Three years later he joined the faculty of Washingotn University where he has remained ever since. During his tenure at this university, he served as Chairman of the Department of Zoology from 1941-1966. He has been a Visiting Professor at the University of Chicago, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California at Berkeley. Professor Hamburger is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors accorded a scientist in this country, as well as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Sigma Xi and Phi Beta Kappa."
4th F. O. Schmitt Lecture, Neurosciences Research Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, October 20, 1976.: This award, which was established in 1973 to mark the 70th birthday of Francis O. Schmitt, founder of the Neurosciences Research Program. The lecture, "Developmental history of the motor neuron," is reprinted in Neuroembryology: the selected papers., pp. 69-109. It was originally published in Neurosciences Research Program Bulletin, v. 15 (Suppl) 1977.; The award was made with the following citation:
"Most widely recognized for his definitive studies of the development of the chick spinal cord and of the spinal and trigeminal ganglia, he has also made basic contributions to developmental genetics, to experimental teratology, to the initial discovery of the nerve growth factor, and, in recent years, to the ontogeny of behavior. His career has spanned the entire era of modern experimental embryology, beginning with his graduate student days in Spemann's laboratory when the "organizer" was discovered. Throughout the intervening half-century, his pioneering achievements have increased our knowledge and understanding of the development of the vertebrate nervous system and mark him as a distinguished leader in developmental neurobiology."
Wakeman Award for Research in the Neurosciences. 1978: This award was established in 1972 by Nancy Gardiner of Palm Beach, Fla., in honor of her late husband, William T. Wakeman. It is presented biennially at Duke University to winners chosen by a panel of neuroscience experts; it is considered one of the preeminent awards in the neurosciences.
Ross G. Harrison-International Society of Developmental Biologists (ISDB) Prize in Developmental Biology is awarded in the year 1981 to Victor [sic] Hamburger in recognition of outstanding record of pioneering achievements in Developmental Neurobiology.: The Thirty-first of August, 1981, at the Ninth Congress of the International Society of Developmental Biologists, Basle, Switzerland.
Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize in Cell Biology and Developmental Neurobiology, October, 17, 1983.: Text of introduction by John G. Hildebrand. This prize is given by a committee of Columbia University medical and science professors; it is one of the awards that observers cite as a forerunner to the winning of the Nobel Prize. Many of the award's winners have gone on to become Nobel laureates.
Honorary doctorate, University of Uppsala, Sweden, 1984.
Ralph W. Gerard Prize for Distinguished Contributions to Neuroscience. 1985: The Society for Neuroscience endows this prize; it is named after Ralph W. Gerard, who was instrumental in founding the Society and served as Honorary President from 1970 until his death in 1974.
First FIDIA-Georgetown Award in Neuroscience. ["To Viktor A. Hamburger, May 2, 1987, Washington, D.C., National Academy of Sciences Auditorium."]: Award jointly sponsored by Fidia Research Foundation and Georgetown University. The lecture, "Some Recollections of a Neuroembryologist", and a biographical sketch are published in v.2, 1986-1987 volume of Fidia Research Foundation Neuroscience Award Lectures, pp. 146-158. The award citation: "Viktor Hamburger is a true pioneer in the field of neuroscience and is credited with establishing the fundamental discipline of neuroembryology. Over a career that spans more than 60 years and still continues today, he has made important contributions to developmental genetics, embryology, neuroembryology, nerve regeneration, developmental psychobiology and the history of science. Specifically, this award recognizes his discovery of the role of cell death in shaping the Central Nervous System and his leadership in fostering the innovative research leading to the discovery of the nerve growth factor."
Stephen W. Kuffler lecture (Dept. of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School), May 8, 1989: "The rise of experimental neuroembryology: a personal retrospective.": The lecture is printed in Neuroembryology: the selected papers., pp. 389-406.
National Medal of Science ["Awarded by the President of the United States of America to Viktor Hamburger 1989."]: Awarded by President George Bush Oct. 18, 1989. "For his steadfast work that led to the discovery and understanding of normally occuring neuronal death, nerve growth factor, and competitive relationships in the vertebrate nervous system."
"THE SEARCH" William Greenleaf Eliot Society Award for Outstanding Service to Washington University. 1989.: The award includes a replica of "The Search," a sculpture designed by Heikki Seppä, professor emeritus in the School of Art. The sculpture symbolizes the University's endless quest for truth and knowledge. It is part of the collection of the University's Gallery of Art.
Honorary doctorate, Rockefeller University, 1996.: News release: Rockefeller University Honors Brooke Astor, Presents Honorary Degrees to Sydney Brenner and Viktor Hamburger and Awards 25 Doctorates at Graduation Ceremonies
Lifetime Achievement Award, Society for Developmental Biology, June, 2000.: "With a respectful nod to the history of developmental biology, the SDB awarded its first lifetime achievement award to Viktor Hamburger. Hamburger is known for his many contributions to developmental biology, including studies of neural development in the chick and his role in the discovery of nerve growth factor. Chris Wylie of the University of Minnesota, the society's outgoing president, showed a hand-written letter from the almost 100-year-old scientist, expressing his regrets that he was not able to attend the meeting.; When Drew Noden of Cornell University accepted the award for Hamburger, it became apparent that Hamburger had given much to the scientists he trained. During his career, said Noden, Hamburger always considered both the philosophy of the science and the scientist as well as the history behind the research. Noden stressed that these traits are just as important for today's scientists. It's important to consider the history and context of developmental biology, even among, as he put it, "the crescendo of technology and the rush to generate experiments and meet the credentials of the top journals." Good science does not come from methodology alone." From Meeting Brief: From Arabidopsis to Zebra Fish New Techniques for Developmental Biology, by Amy Fluet.
Fellow of the Academy of Sciences of Saint Louis, appointment year unknown.

Selected Publications by Viktor Hamburger
See Bibliography of Viktor Hamburger for a more complete list. Another bibliography of Viktor Hamburger [pdf], published in International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, v.19, no.2, April 2001, pp. v-viii. [Full text available only on campuses, like Washington University, with ScienceDirect access to this journal.]

Die Entwicklung des Urmenschen im Lichte der neueren Forschung, von Viktor Hamburger. Landeshut, im August 1917. Druck von Armin Werner's Buchdruckerie, Landehut i. Schles.

Title translation: The development of early humans in light of new research. Published at age 17.

"Versuche über Komplementär-Farben bei Ellritzen (Phoxinus laevis)," by Viktor Hamburger. Zeitschrift für vergleichende Physiologie, v.4, pp. 286-304, 1926.

Title translation: Experiments on the complementary colours of the Ellritze (a type of fish that changes colors during mating season)

"Die Entwicklung experimentell erzeugter nervenloser und schwach innervierter Extremitäten von Anuren," by V. Hamburger. Wilhelm Roux' Archiv für Entwicklungsmechanik der Organismen, v.114, pp. 272-363, 1928.

Title translation: The development of experimentally produced nerveless and weakly innervated extremities of frogs. "It was at Dahlem [Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Biology in Berlin-Dahlem] where he laid the foundations for his subsequent work on the developmental and functional interactions between the central nervous system and the peripheral appendices. In a prophetic vein he wrote, in 1928, an essay that contains almost the whole range of problems, the solution to which was to become the work of his lifetime, a work which elevated him to the lordship of a new province -- neuroembryology." [Holtfreter, 1968]. Cowan, 1981, p. 4-5, also talks about this paper.

"Experimentelle Beiträge zur Entwicklungsphysiologie der Nervenbahnen in der Froschenextremität," by Viktor Hamburger. Wilhelm Roux' Archiv für Entwicklungsmechanik der Organismen, v.119, pp.47-99, 1929.

Title translation: Experimental contributions to the developmental physiology of the nerves in frog extremities.

Heimatbuch des Kreises Landeshut i. Schl.. 2 vols. 1929. edited by Ernst Kunick.: Book of local history and geography of the region in Silesia (now Poland) where Viktor Hamburger grew up. Viktor Hamburger was on the planning committee for this book. He and his friend, Walther Arndt, are profusely thanked for their hard work instigating this project and finding the right people to write the chapters. Viktor wrote the Einleitung (Introduction) and the chapter on geology, v.1, pp.1-44, Erdgeschichte des Kreises Landeshut. There are sections on people, music, folk arts, natural history, etc.

Der Farbensinn der Fische, von V. Hamburger, Freiburg i. B. Two articles published in Der Naturforscher (Berlin : Hugo Vermühler Verlag), Jahrgang 7 (Nummer 4, Juli 1930), pages 128-133 AND Jahrgang 7 (Nummer 5, August 1930), pages 172-180.

Title translation: The color vision of fishes. Reports of Viktor Hamburger's postdoctoral research.

"The effects of wing bud extirpation on the development of the central nervous system in chick embryos," by Viktor Hamburger. Journal of Experimental Zoology v.68, pp. 449-494, 1934.

"In 1934, Viktor Hamburger (a student of Hans Spemann, the 1935 Nobel Laureate who discovered the "organizer-induction" phenomenon) explored the effect of limb bud extirpation, in 3-day-old chick embryos, on spinal cord motor neurons in charge of the innervation of the limb. Deprived of their fields of innervation, motor nerve cells in the segment of the spinal cord innervating the limb failed to undergo growth and differentiation. ... The 1934 article, by Hamburger on this phenomenon came to my attention many years later, in 1940....My background...suggested other possible explanations for this effect, which I was eager to put to the test." [Levi-Montalcini, 1997, pp. 1-2.]

A Manual of experimental embryology, by Viktor Hamburger. Univ. of Chicago Press, 1941.

"Proliferation, differentiation and degeneration in the spinal ganglia of the chick embryo under normal and experimental conditions," by Viktor Hamburger and Rita Levi-Montalcini. Journal of Experimental Zoology v.111, pp. 457-502, 1949.

Viktor was interested in a group of papers by Rita Levi-Montalcini and her mentor Guiseppe Levi on the effects of limb ablation on the developing spinal ganglia. This work was stimulated by Hamburger's 1934 paper. Viktor persuaded Rita to visit Washington University. She stayed for 30 years. "Their first collaborative study on the effects of limb-bud extirpation and supernumary limb transplantations on the sensory ganglia resulted in a paper that is now widely recognized as one of the classics in the field of neuroembryology." [Cowan, 1981, p.8-9]

"A series of normal stages in the development of the chick embryo," by Viktor Hamburger and Howard L. Hamilton. Journal of Morphology v.88, pp. 49-92, 1951. Reprinted in Developmental Dynamics, v.195, pp. 231-272, 1992. Some illustrations.

"It would be fair to say that, with the possible exception of Frank Lillie, Viktor more than any other person, put chick embryology on the map, and it is only appropriate that in 1977 his staged series of chick embryos (prepared with the help of H.L. Hamilton, 1951) was recognized by the Institute for Scientific Information as a "citation classic," being one of the 500 most-cited scientific papers in the 15-year period from 1961 through 1975." [Cowan, 1981, p. 6] "The quotation record proves that our stage series has been adopted universally by developmental biologists and by others who use chick embryos. It has stood the test of time for 4 decades. For me, the most gratifying reward of our efforts is the fact that in all these years not a single letter was written that complained of a difficulty or pointed out an inaccuracy. This means that our standards of perfection have met the challenge, and that we do not need to worry about a second, improved edition." [Hamburger, V, p. 275, "Afterword; the stage series of the chick embryo" Developmental Dynamics, v.195, pp.273-275, 1992]

Reprinted in The Saga of the Nerve Growth Factor:

"Selective growth-stimulating effects of mouse sarcoma on the sensory and sympathetic nervous system of the chick embryo," by R. Levi-Montalcini and V. Hamburger. Journal of Experimental Zoology v.116, pp.. 321-361, 1951.

"In vitro experiments on the effects of mouse sarcomas 180 and 37 on the spinal and sympathetic ganglia of the chick embryo," by R. Levi-Montalcini, H. Meyer, and V. Hamburger. Cancer Research v.14, pp.49-57, 1953.

"A nerve growth-stimulating factor isolated from sarcomas 37 and 180," by S. Cohen, R. Levi-Montalcini and V. Hamburger. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, v.40, pp.1014-1018, 1954.

"Trends in experimental neuroembryology," by Viktor Hamburger, pp. 52-73 IN: Biochemistry of the Developing Nervous System, Proceedings of the First International Neurochemistry Symposium, edited by H. Waelsch. Academic Press, 1955.

Analysis of development, edited by Benjamin H. Willier, Paul A. Weiss, and Viktor Hamburger. Philadelphia : Saunders, 1955.

"Localization of motor neuron pools supplying identifed muscles in normal and supernumary legs of chick embryo," by Margaret Hollyday, Viktor Hamburger, and Juanita M. G. Farris. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, v. 74, pp. 3582-3586, 1977.

Introduction to Goethe's zur Farbenlehre: an excerpt and plate reproduced from the first edition. Friends of the Libraries of Washington University, 1981.

The Heritage of experimental embryology: Hans Spemann and the organizer, by Viktor Hamburger. Oxford Univ. Press, 1988.

reviewed by Jane Oppenheimer in Quarterly Review of Biology v.63(3), pp. 316-317, 1988, and by J.B.Gurdon in Trends in Neurosciences v.12(2), p. 80, 1989.

Neuroembryology : the selected papers, by Viktor Hamburger ; introduction by Ronald W. Oppenheim. Birkhäuser, 1990.

Includes reprints of many of Hamburger's English language publications, lectures, essays.

"Embryology and the modern synthesis in evolutionary theory," pp. 97-112, and "Evolutionary theory in Germany: a comment," by Viktor Hamburger, pp.303-308, IN The Evolutionary synthesis : perspectives in the unification of biology, edited by Ernst Mayr and William B. Provine. Harvard Univ. Press, 1998.

"Hans Spemann on vitalism in biology: translation of a portion of Spemann's Autobiography," by V. Hamburger, with "Editor's introduction", by Garland E. Allen and Jane Maienschein. Journal of the History of Biology, v.32, pp. 231-243, 1999.

Many other publications by Viktor Hamburger are available in the collections of the Washington University Biology Library and/or the Becker Medical Library. Please ask library staff for help locating any other publications you would like to review.

Books and book chapters in the Washington University Danforth Campus libraries Also interview on videotape, v.2, Biologists under Hitler - chapter about, Evolutionary synthesis - chapter by

PubMed search for articles by or about Viktor Hamburger

Publications about Viktor Hamburger

"Viktor Hamburger." Washington University Magazine, Winter, 1967, pp. 34-37.
"Address in honor of Viktor Hamburger", by Johannes Holtfreter, pp. ix-xx IN The Emergence of Order in Developing Systems, the 27th Symposium, the Society for Developmental Biology. 1968.
"An Appreciation of Viktor Hamburger," by R. R. Smith Washington University Medical School Outlook Magazine, Spring, 1981, pp. 10-15.
Studies in developmental neurobiology: essays in honor of Viktor Hamburger, edited by W. Maxwell Cowan. Oxford Univ. Press, 1981.: Includes "Viktor Hamburger's contribution to developmental neurobiology: an appreciation," by W. Maxwell Cowen; "One of Hans Spemann's pupils,", by Rita Levi-Montalcini, and other essays.
"A Man for all seasons," by Linda Tucci; photographs by Herb Weitman. Washington University Magazine, Spring, 1987, pp. 12-19.
" Life sciences in the 20th century," by Garland E. Allen. History of Science Society Newsletter, Volume 17 No. 5 (Supplement 1988): Hamburger is mentioned several times in the "Experimental Embryology" section of this essay.
"Viktor Hamburger: pioneer embryologist, teacher, colleague and friend," by Ronald W. Oppenheim, IN Neuroembryology: the Selected Papers. 1990.
"Viktor Hamburger : still a student at 92." WU Record, Oct. 29, 1992.
Society for Neuroscience archival interview : Viktor Hamburger. [videorecording]. Produced by Educational Film Center for the Society for Neurosciences, 1995.: Approx. 1 hour long video of Viktor talking about his life and work. Video players are available in the library.
"Viktor Hamburger and Johannes Holtfreter : the expulsion of two eminent experimental embryologist", pp. 30-38, IN Biologists under Hitler, by Ute Deichmann. Harvard Univ. Press, 1996.
"Experimental neuroembryology in the first half of this century : personal contributions," pp. 1-6, IN The saga of the nerve growth factor, by Rita Levi-Montalcini. World Scientific, 1997.: "This book is dedicated with love to Viktor Hamburger."
Obituary: The St. Louis Post Dispatch. June 14, 2001, Thursday Five Star Lift Edition, METRO; Pg. B1, WU Neuroembryologist Viktor Hamburger Dies; His Findings are Used in Cancer Research. , By Bethany Prange. Full text accessible on WU campus via Lexis Nexis Academic.
Obituary: The New York Times. June 14, 2001, Thursday, Late Edition - Final, Viktor Hamburger, Section C; Page 17; Column 1; National Desk, Viktor Hamburger, 100, Dies; Embryologist Revealed Architecture of Nervous System, By Karen Freeman. Full text accessible on WU campus via Lexis Nexis Academic.
"World-renowned biologist Hamburger dies at 100, by Tony Fitzpatrick. WU Record, June 15, 2001. available on the web.
International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, v.19, no.2, April, 2001. Most of this issue is memoirs of students and colleagues of Viktor Hamburger, etc. fulltext available to WU students, staff, faculty.
Viktor Hamburger 1900-2001, by Drew M. Noden, at the Society for Developmental Biology web site.
A guide to the papers of Viktor Hamburger (1900-2001), Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543
The Viktor Hamburger Papers and Reprint Collection in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, by Garland Allen. The Mendel Newsletter, New Series #13: 12-15.

Other items

Lehrbuch der Experimentalzoologie; experimentelle Entwicklungslehre der Tiere, 2nd ed., by Dr. Bernhard Dürken. Berlin, Gebrüder Bornstraeger, 1928.: Dürken was a professor at Breslau when Hamburger studied there. "The subject of Viktor's thesis work was actually outside Spemann's field of interest. It was taken from Dürken's domain. Dürken had reported that when in a young tadpole one eye is removed, malformations of the outgrowing hindlimbs often resulted. A strange affair! But when Hamburger repeated this experiment, he obtained similar results. No satisfactory explanation could be offered for this puzzle, and, so far as I know, it has remained a puzzle to this day. At any rate, on the basis of this work, Viktor Hamburger was awarded the doctoral degree..." [Holtfreter, 1968.]
A portrait of Viktor Hamburger hangs in the entry hallway of the Biology Library.
Lantern slides Viktor Hamburger used in teaching:

slides

Related Links

Viktor Hamburger, interviewed by Dale Purves, June 30, 1983, 80 minute audio and transcript, part of Washington University School of Medicine Oral History Project
Bibliography of Viktor Hamburger, assembled by David Kirk. Another bibliography of Viktor Hamburger, published in International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, v.19, no.2, April 2001, pp. v-viii. [Full text available only on campuses, like Washington University, with ScienceDirect access to this journal.]
Viktor Hamburger Curriculum Vitae
Viktor Hamburger Lecture Series lecturers
Celebrating Viktor Hamburger; Event marks famed biologist's centennial, by Tony Fitzpatrick, WU Record, v.25, no.6, October, 9, 2000.
Viktor Hamburger (Adapted from D. Purves and J. W. Lichtman 1985. Principles of Neural Development. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA.) Part of Pioneering Research in Neurobiology web site.
Pioneer of a New Era : Viktor Hamburger and the Emergence of Experimental Embryology and Neuroembryology, By Ronald W. Oppenheim. On the Society for Neuroscience web site.

This page was created to support an actual library exhibit of medals, reprint, photographs, etc., during October, 2000. Although those materials are no longer displayed together in the library, the page will be maintained as a virtual exhibit.