The Register of
Leo Szilard Papers
1898 - 1998

MSS 0032

Mandeville Special Collections Library
Geisel Library
University of California, San Diego

Extent: 47.30 linear feet (112 archives boxes, 1 records carton, 2 card file boxes, 18 oversize folders)

Abstract

Papers of a nuclear physicist, biologist, and advocate of global arms control. Born in Budapest, Hungary in 1898, Szilard moved to Berlin in 1919, where he studied engineering and physics and received his doctorate under Max von Laue at the University of Berlin. He migrated to England in 1933 where he made important discoveries relating to the nuclear chain-reaction. After moving to the United States in the late 1930s, he worked on the Manhattan Project and made significant contributions to the development of the atomic bomb. After World War II he concentrated on the field of biology and became one of the world's leading advocates of global cooperation and arms control. He was associated with many universities, including Oxford, Columbia, and Chicago. In 1951 he married Dr. Gertrude Weiss. In 1963 he became a fellow of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. He died in San Diego, California, in 1964. The majority of the materials in the Szilard papers date from the late 1930s to the early 1960s -- the period following Szilard's move to the U.S. Materials dating from earlier years include patents, personal documents, and a number of letters. The collection best documents Szilard's work on the atomic bomb and his efforts on behalf of arms control and world cooperation. The papers are organized in twelve series: 1) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS, 2) CORRESPONDENCE, 3) WRITINGS, 4) SUBJECTS AND ORGANIZATIONS, 5) FINANCIAL RECORDS, 6) ADDRESSES, 7) GERTRUDE SZILARD MATERIALS, 8) PHOTOGRAPHS, 9) AUDIO MATERIALS, 10) AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIALS, 11) ARTIFACTS, and 12) NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS. Prominent correspondents include Enrico Fermi, J. William Fulbright, Otto Hahn, Hubert Humphrey, Frederic Joliot-Curie, Linus Pauling, Michael Polyani, Jonas Salk, Edward Teller, Harold C. Urey, and Eugene P. Wigner. Also included are copies of correspondence with Albert Einstein. The accessions processed in 2000 compliment the first accession and contain further correspondence with prominent individuals, including Leslie Groves, Frederic Joliot-Curie, John F. Kennedy, Nikita Khrushchev, and Max von Laue. Also included are letters (1936-1960), in German, from Szilard to Gertrude Weiss Szilard, his wife, and annotated drafts of the letter written with Albert Einstein to President Roosevelt disclosing developments in nuclear fission. The papers include recent articles on Szilard, documentation and memorabilia from programs and celebrations of his life and work, and materials related to Gertrude Weiss Szilard. The papers are arranged in five series: 1) CORRESPONDENCE, 2) WRITINGS BY LEO SZILARD, 3) ARTICLES, PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS ON SZILARD, 4) MISCELLANEOUS MATERIAL, and 5) GERTRUDE SZILARD MATERIALS.

Biography

Leo Szilard is best known for his pioneering work in nuclear physics, his participation in the Manhattan Project during World War II, and his opposition to the nuclear arms race in the postwar era.

The son of an engineer and the scion of an affluent Jewish family, Szilard was born Leo Spitz on February 11, 1898 in Budapest, Hungary. His family name was changed to Szilard in 1900. Szilard was a precocious child, and he took an interest in physics at the age of thirteen. He attended public school in Budapest before being drafted into the Austro-Hungarian army in 1917. In the army he was sent to officer's training school, but he was spared from active duty by a severe case of influenza. After the war he remained in Budapest but, due to political unrest and a lack of suitable educational opportunities, he left for Berlin in 1919.

In Berlin Szilard studied engineering at the Institute of Technology (Technische Hochschule), but his primary interest was physics. He was attracted to the work of great physicists like Albert Einstein, Max Planck, Max Von Laue, Erwin Schroedinger, Walter Nernst, and Fritz Haber -- most of whom were teaching in Berlin at that time.

In 1921 Szilard gave up his engineering studies and enrolled at the University of Berlin, where he studied physics under Max von Laue, among others. He earned his doctorate -- cum laude -- in August 1922 after submitting his dissertation entitled Uber die thermodynamischen Schwankungserscheinungen. In this work Szilard showed "that the Second Law of Thermodynamics covers not only the mean values, as was up to then believed, but also determines the general form of the law that governs the fluctuating values." The dissertation presented ideas relating to what would become the foundation of modern information theory.

Szilard began postdoctoral work at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Berlin with Hermann Mark. Szilard's studies focused on the anomalous scattering of X-rays in crystals and the polarization of X-rays by reflection on crystals. Between 1925 and 1933, he applied for numerous patents, often with Albert Einstein. One of the Szilard-Einstein patents covered the invention of a new refrigeration system based on a method for pumping metals by a moving magnetic field. The two physicists hoped to interest the company A.E.G. (the German General Electric company) in producing a practical refrigerator based on their patent. Although this refrigerator was never produced, the refrigeration system was used effectively in the U.S in 1942 to develop an atomic reactor.

In 1933, With Hitler's rise to power in Germany, Szilard moved to England. In London he collaborated with T.A. Chalmers at St. Bartholomew's Hospital. There they developed the Szilard-Chalmers process, a technique to chemically separate radioactive elements from their stable isotopes. Much of Szilard's activity during this period related to his efforts to register his patents in England and to secure income with the help of the firm of Claremont, Haynes, and Company. Szilard's associates in various ventures included Isbert Adams, Arno Brasch, T.M. Vogelstein, R. Kammitzer, and Benjamin Liebowitz. Szilard also influenced Sir William Beveridge to found the Academic Assistance Council, an organization created to help persecuted scientists leave Nazi Germany. Between 1935 and 1937 he worked as a research physicist at the Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford University.

It was on a street corner in London, in October 1933, that Szilard first conceived of the possibility of a nuclear chain reaction. The possibility of such a chain-reaction -- the process essential for the releasing of atomic energy -- had been dismissed by the eminent physicist Lord Ernest Rutherford. Szilard successfully proved Rutherford wrong.

Szilard visited the United States several times in the mid-1930s, and he began to consider a move to America as the prospects for war in Europe increased. In 1938, at the time of the Munich pact, Szilard was a visiting lecturer in the United States. He decided to shift his residence to New York in anticipation of England's weakening policy toward Germany and the impending world war.

At the Pupin Laboratories at Columbia University, Szilard collaborated with Walter Zinn to research neutron emissions. They discovered that two fast neutrons are probably emitted in the fission process, and that the element uranium might sustain a chain reaction. Subsequent investigations with Enrico Fermi and Herbert Anderson, also at Columbia, demonstrated that a system composed of water and uranium oxide approached the requirements for a self-sustaining chain reaction. Szilard elaborated on a graphite uranium system in his manuscript entitled "Divergent Chain Reactions in a System Composed of Uranium and Carbon" (later expanded into the "A-55 Report" for the Metallurgical Laboratory in Chicago) which was submitted and accepted (although withheld) for publication in the Physical Review on February 16, 1940.

With the start of World War II, Szilard became intensely concerned about the applications of the new atomic theories to the development of weapons. Knowing that German nuclear research was at an advanced stage, he felt that the work being conducted by him and his colleagues should be withheld from publication. Szilard and his colleagues Eugene Wigner and Edward Teller hoped to gain the financial support of the United States Government in underwriting the cost of a definitive, large-scale experiment to prove that a sustained nuclear chain reaction was possible. Together they enlisted the assistance and influence of Albert Einstein. With Einstein's consent, Szilard drafted a letter, which was signed by Einstein and delivered to President Roosevelt by Alexander Sachs in October 1939. This letter outlined the possibility of the chain reaction and its implications for national defense.

Szilard's work on atomic energy intensified during World War II. With governmental support approved by President Roosevelt and with the assistance of the National Bureau of Standards, Szilard began to procure graphite and uranium through negotiations with suppliers like the National Carbon Company. These materials were necessary components for a large scale chain-reaction experiment. From February 1942 to July 1946, Szilard worked as "Chief Physicist" for Arthur H. Compton at the Metallurgical Laboratory of the University of Chicago. This Laboratory was one of the chief research centers for the development of the atomic bomb, in what would come to be called the Manhattan Project.

On December 2, 1942, Szilard and his colleagues demonstrated the first nuclear chain reaction. This demonstration took place in the graphite block reactor built under the grandstand at the University of Chicago's Stagg Field. This successful experiment was in part the result of Szilard's atomic theories.

Throughout the Manhattan project, Szilard was often frustrated by cumbersome government administration and security regulations. Like other scientists involved in the project, he felt uneasy about the dominant role played by the military in the project. Many of his memoranda from the period reflect these concerns.

Szilard viewed the production of the atomic bomb as a necessary counter-measure to the possibility of German nuclear development and deployment, but he foresaw the global consequences of the proliferation of this weapon. After Germany surrendered, Szilard organized his colleagues to press for limitations in the use of the atomic bomb. He drafted a letter to President Roosevelt urging restraint in the use of the bomb, but the President died before the letter could be delivered. In the spring of 1945, Szilard influenced a group of scientists to produce the Franck Report, which outlined the dangers of a nuclear arms race. The report advised against the use of an atomic bomb against Japanese civilians, advocating instead a non-combat demonstration.

In July 1945 Szilard circulated a petition urging President Truman not to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. A revised version of this petition was eventually signed by 68 scientists at the Metallurgical Laboratory. It was strongly opposed by General Groves, head of the Manhattan Project, on the grounds that such a petition would breach security and expose the existence of the atomic bomb. The petition did not reach the president. After Japan's surrender Szilard worked to defeat the May-Johnson bill, which sought to place atomic energy in the hands of the military.

After the war Szilard began to focus on biology, a field he had long been interested in. He resigned from the Metallurgical Laboratory on June 1, 1946, and became a half-time professor of biophysics at the Institute of Radiobiology and Biophysics at the University of Chicago. He also worked half-time for the University's Division of Social Sciences as Adviser to the Office of Inquiry into the Social Aspects of Atomic Energy. For the academic year 1953-1954, Szilard served as a visiting professor of biophysics at Brandeis University. In 1956, he became a professor of biophysics at the Enrico Fermi Institute for Nuclear Studies at the University of Chicago. To broaden his knowledge of biology he often attended seminars and conferences, such as the Cold Springs Harbor Symposium in New York.

Throughout the 1950s Szilard continued his biological research. In Chicago he collaborated with Aaron Novick to develop the "chemostat," a device for "maintaining a multiplying population of bacteria under conditions not changing in time." Numerous articles resulted from his research, including "Experiments with the chemostat on spontaneous mutation of bacteria," "Anti-mutagens," and "On the nature of the aging process." Szilard's theory of aging, a major outgrowth of his research, became a continuing interest in his later life. Much of Szilard's research funding came from contracts and grants with organizations such as the National Advisory Health Council and the Office of Naval Research. He also worked as a consultant to private industry, and his patents for a "liquid-liquid extractor" were used by Podbielniak, Inc.

Szilard became increasingly active in public political activities during the Postwar period. In his lectures he advocated nuclear arms control, world government, and an elite leadership role for the international scientific community. Many of his ideas were inspired by the works of H.G. Wells, which he had read avidly as a young man. Wells's book The World Set Free (London, 1914), which had predicted the development of atomic power, had made a great impression on Szilard when he read it in 1932.

In 1947, Szilard published a "letter to Stalin" in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. In the letter he urged world leaders to openly exchange ideas in an effort to mitigate the growing Cold War. In his appeal he took a balanced view of the peace process, blaming neither the U.S. or the Soviet Union for the situation. In the late 1950s Szilard's ideas inspired Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russell to organize an international conferences of concerned scientists. The first conference took place at Pugwash, Nova Scotia in 1957, and subsequent conferences, named after the location of the first meeting, have been held throughout the world since then.

After 1958, with the increasing threat of nuclear war, Szilard's political activities intensified. Between October 1959 and October 1960 he carried on a series of interactions with Soviet Premier Nikita Khruschev which culminated in a two hour interview in New York. Szilard proposed the development of a Moscow-Washington "hot line," which could facilitate communications between super-power leaders in the interest of global peace. With the election of President Kennedy, Szilard moved to Washington, D.C., taking up residence at the DuPont Plaza Hotel. He criticized Kennedy's handling of the Bay of Pigs debacle and the President's bomb shelter program. Szilard offered to personally intercede with Khruschev during the Berlin Crisis in 1961.

Throughout the early 1960s Szilard continued his advocacy of global cooperation. In 1961 he began a lecture tour which would take him to eight college campuses. His first lecture, at the Harvard Law School Forum on November 17, 1961, was entitled "Are We on the Road to War?" From these and other efforts came an organization known as the Council for a Livable World, a political action committee which encouraged members to donate two percent of their income to designated political candidates. In 1962, Szilard attempted unsuccessfully to organize informal meetings between lesser officials of both the United States and the Soviet Union in what he termed the "Angels Project."

Szilard wrote extensively during this period. He suggested rules for nuclear age living in "How to Live with the Bomb and Survive" (1960). He wrote a futuristic work of fiction entitled The Voice of the Dolphins (1961). In this work Szilard had the dolphins describe the debacle of human society, out of which they have inherited the earth. He carried on his writing during two courses of radiation treatments for bladder cancer in 1960 and 1962. While undergoing these treatments in New York City's Memorial Hospital, Szilard also made an extensive series of tape recordings relating to his life and his involvement in the Manhattan project.

In July 1963, Szilard was appointed as a non-resident fellow at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California. He had known Jonas Salk since the late 1950s, and many of Szilard's ideas had influenced Salk in the planning of the Institute. Szilard moved to La Jolla in February 1964. There he intended to work in biophysics as a Resident Fellow of the Salk Institute. But three months later, on May 30, 1964, he died of a heart attack.

Szilard lived a peripatetic life. After leaving Budapest in 1919 he had no true permanent residence. He stayed mostly in hotels, and his associations with various universities were usually tenuous. Because he had no long-term institutional affiliations, Szilard had difficulty in marshalling the material forces -- such as a clerical and laboratory staff -- needed to follow through on many of his important ideas. Szilard was essentially a thinker, and he preferred to leave for others the tasks involved in implementing his ideas.

Szilard's life gained some stability through his relationship with Dr. Gertrude Weiss. Weiss was a physician who had fled Nazi Germany in 1930s. She met Szilard before the war, and the two were married in the United States in 1951. Still, the couple often lived apart, and Szilard considered himself a "bachelor at heart."

For more detailed biographical information, see LEO SZILARD: HIS VERSION OF THE FACTS, edited by Spencer Weart and Gertrude Weiss Szilard (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, c1978) and the "Introduction" by Barton Bernstein to Helen Hawkins, et. al., eds., TOWARD A LIVABLE WORLD: LEO SZILARD AND THE CRUSADE FOR NUCLEAR ARMS CONTROL (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, c. 1987), p. xvii-lxxiv. Finally, a full-length biography of Szilard by William Lanouette has been published entitled GENIUS IN THE SHADOWS: A BIOGRAPHY OF LEO SZILARD, THE MAN BEHIND THE BOMB.

Scope and Content

Accession Processed in 1988

The majority of the materials in the Szilard papers date from the late 1930s to the early 1960s -- the period following Szilard's move to the U.S. Materials dating from earlier years include patents, personal documents, and a number of letters. The collection best documents Szilard's work on the atomic bomb and his efforts on behalf of arms control and world cooperation. The papers are organized in twelve series: 1) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS, 2) CORRESPONDENCE, 3) WRITINGS, 4) SUBJECTS AND ORGANIZATIONS, 5) FINANCIAL RECORDS, 6) ADDRESSES, 7) GERTRUDE SZILARD MATERIALS, 8) PHOTOGRAPHS, 9) AUDIO MATERIALS, 10) AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIALS, 11) ARTIFACTS, and 12) NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS.

The BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS contain primary personal documents, such as certificates and passports, which largely record Szilard's life prior to his emigration from Germany to England in 1933. Included are materials created by other family members, such as Szilard's father's memoir. Also included are biographical articles and sketches and autobiographical materials. Many of the passports and immigration papers contain photographs of Szilard.

The CORRESPONDENCE brings together all of Szilard's communications previously scattered throughout the collection. Incoming and outgoing correspondence is filed together. Arranged alphabetically, the correspondence has been gathered and segregated by author; that is, letters from Szilard to "X" and from "X" to Szilard are integrated in the same folder chronologically. In addition, third party correspondence from "X" to "Y" is also interfiled under the author "X". For exchanges with individuals involving less than three items, the materials are foldered with others, alphabetically by correspondent in "miscellaneous" files (e.g. "A Misc.", "B Misc.", etc.). Works of unidentified correspondents are located at the beginning of the general correspondence.

In general, the correspondence prior to 1946 is less extensive but more significant. Less significant but more extensive is the correspondence from later years. This situation reflects Szilard's greater involvement in public life after World War II. Prominent correspondents include Enrico Fermi, J. William Fulbright, Otto Hahn, Hubert Humphrey, Frederic Joliot-Curie, Linus Pauling, Michael Polyani, Jonas Salk, Edward Teller, Harold C. Urey, and Eugene P. Wigner. Also included are copies of correspondence with Albert Einstein.

The WRITINGS series contains a number of subseries which bring together manuscript and printed materials created by Leo Szilard. Also included are materials created by others, which can be found in the "Publications By Other Authors" subseries. Most materials in this series date from 1946 and after.

A significant subseries, the "Writings by Leo Szilard," contains essays, scientific papers, and literary works produced by Szilard, including the manuscript for his book, The Voice of the Dolphins. These materials are arranged alphabetically by title. Works with changing titles are brought together under the latest title. Works that appear without title are segregated into "dated" and "non-dated" folders at the beginning of the subseries.

The "Patents" subseries contains documents and related materials in the form of drafts, figures and notes. These are organized chronologically. Of special interest are the early patents in refrigeration held with Albert Einstein, the patent for a "neutronic reactor" developed with Enrico Fermi, and Szilard's singular achievements on the "Chain Reaction" and "Chemostat".

The "History" subseries contains materials originally gathered together under that title in Mrs. Szilard's inventory. Herein are important retrospective writings by Szilard on early atomic bomb development and his involvement with the Manhattan Project.

The "Interviews" largely date from the early 1960's and are arranged alphabetically by interviewer or by title when no interviewer is apparent.

The "Memoranda" subseries contains those general communications not directed to a specific recipient. They are arranged chronologically. Most of these materials originated in the Metallurgical Laboratory in Chicago.

Szilard's Speeches date from the close of his direct involvement with the atomic bomb after World War II and his shift into public life as an advocate of disarmament.

The "Handwritten Notes" consist of fragments of Szilard's writings, often jottings on a napkin or a loose scrap of paper. These materials lacked a direct relationship to other items in the original folders in which they were found. The materials have either been labelled with Mrs. Szilard's original folder numbers (where the items were found) or have been given a subject title.

Completing the series are "Notebooks" and "Publications by Other Authors." Notebooks are arranged first by date, then alphabetically by title. The "Publications by Other Authors" mostly consist of materials collected by Szilard after he began work in biology. Organized alphabetically by author, each folder often contains several works.

The series SUBJECTS AND ORGANIZATIONS contains materials of a various genres, including correspondence and printed matter. The subseries "Organizations" contains files on organizations with which Szilard interacted or from which he collected publicity materials. The files are arranged alphabetically by corporate entry. Note the "miscellaneous" folders at the beginning of the subseries for organizations represented by single items. The "Subjects" subseries contains folders which fall outside established categories.

Szilard's FINANCIAL RECORDS form a series containing bank records, tax records, and a subseries grouping invoices, records, and receipts by originating organization. Included in this series is a chronological file of contracts and grants which relate to research activity. Travel materials such as airline and train tickets complete the group.

Although some of the ADDRESS BOOKS are from as early as the 1930's, most of them date from the early 1960's. Included in this group are names and addresses found on fragments of paper or business cards.

Materials in the GERTRUDE SZILARD MATERIALS series were created and arranged by Leo Szilard's wife. The materials largely relate to her work with the Leo Szilard papers. The organization of this series remains unchanged from its original state, with the exception of the correspondence, which has been brought together alphabetically by author. The materials in this series, created after Leo Szilard's death in 1964, concern the disposition, assembly, and processing of the papers, including the original manuscript/typescript of the original inventory to the papers. Also included are materials relating to the production of the two documentary histories: The Collected Works of Leo Szilard: Scientific Papers (1972) and Leo Szilard: His Version of the Facts (1978). Included in this series are documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

The last five series in the collection contain non-manuscript materials. PHOTOGRAPHS in the collection follow a chronological order with the exception of portraits, which are grouped alphabetically by photographer. The AUDIO MATERIALS, such as speeches, talks, and interviews are grouped by format as are the AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIALS. Many of Szilard's personal effects, including glasses, wallets, and sliderulers, are located in the ARTIFACTS group. Finally, the NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS collected by Szilard remain unprocessed, to be microfilmed at a later date.

SEPARATION LIST

_____

The following materials have been separated either to the Rare collection in Special Collections, or to the General Collection of the UCSD Library.

Conference to plan a strategy for peace: final report. Harriman: Arden House, 1960. Szilard presented an address, pp 16-20.

Gerstell, Richard.

How to survive an atomic bomb. New York: Bantam Books, 1950.

Grodzins, Morton and Eugene Rabinowitch, eds.

The atomic age: scientists in national and world affairs. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1965. Szilard wrote four essays included in the text.

The H bomb. New York: Didier, 1950. Szilard cited as a contributer.

Joint Disarmament Study Group. Discussion papers proposed by U.S. participants: first session. n.p., n.d.

Merton, Thomas.

Peace in the post Christian era. [Trappist: Abbey of Gethsemani], n.d.

Toward a science and a program for human survival. New York: The

Congress of Scientists On Survival, 1962.

The way of the scientist: interviews from the World of Science and Technology. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1962. Interview with Szilard, 23-34.

Accession Processed in 2000

The accession processed in 2000 compliments the first accession and contains correspondence with prominent individuals, several writings by Szilard, recent articles about Szilard, and documentation of programs and projects celebrating his life. Also included are letters written in 1939 between Szilard and international physicists related to attempts to keep fission experiment results unpublished. The collection includes material related to Gertrude Weiss Szilard's life and editorial work. The papers date between 1921 and 1981, and are arranged in five series: 1) CORRESPONDENCE, 2) WRITINGS BY LEO SZILARD, 3) ARTICLES, PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS ON LEO SZILARD, 4) MISCELLANEOUS MATERIAL, and 5) GERTRUDE SZILARD MATERIALS.

SERIES 1: CORRESPONDENCE

The CORRESPONDENCE is arranged alphabetically with most of the letters dating from the 1950s and 1960s. Prominent correspondents include Francis H.C. Crick, Albert Einstein, Frederic Joliot-Curie, John F. Kennedy, Nikita Khruschev, Bertrand Russell, and Jonas Salk. There is also an extensive collection of letters, in German, from Leo Szilard to Gertrude Weiss Szilard for the years 1936-1960.

SERIES 2: WRITINGS BY LEO SZILARD

Significant documents in the WRITINGS series include Szilard's transcription from his notes and recollections of a conversation he had with Nikita Khruschev in 1960; a transcription of the August 2, 1939, letter he composed with Albert Einstein; an interview given in 1955; and, the signed "Petition to the President of the United States," dated July 17, 1945. The series is arranged alphabetically.

SERIES 3: ARTICLES, PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS ON LEO SZILARD

The material about Leo Szilard has been arranged in two subseries: A) Articles on Leo Szilard and B) Projects and Programs on Szilard.

A) The first subseries contains articles and papers written about Leo Szilard. Some appeared in general interest or specialized publications, were given as talks or submitted as academic coursework. Also included are Hungarian language articles and miscellanous clippings that mention Leo Szilard during the period 1960-1984.

B) The second subseries documents several programs and events honoring Leo Szilard including the Leo Szilard Centenary held in Budapest, Hungary. Gertude Weiss Szilard attended some of them and kept copies of the commemorative material contained in this subseries. Included are a transcript of an interview Gertrude Weiss Szilard gave to a San Diego television station and a description of program produced by a television network in Japan.

SERIES 4: MISCELLANEOUS MATERIAL

The MISCELLANEOUS MATERIAL series contains a photocopy of Leo Szilard's academic transcript 1921-1923, a photocopied photograph commemorating the pioneers of nuclear fission at the University of Chicago and financial, tax and business documents.

SERIES 5: GERTRUDE SZILARD MATERIALS

The material in this series is directly related to Gertrude Weiss Szilard's own life, although it continues to reflect her work with her husband's papers after his death in 1964. The four subseries are: A) Biographical Material, B) Correspondence, C) Edited Writings of Leo Szilard, and D) Photographs. The Biographical Material subseries is arranged alphabetically and documents Gertrude Weiss Szilard's educational background and professional life. The Correspondence subseries, arranged alphabetically, letters from Norman Cousins, Henry Kissenger, Bruno Kreisky, and Eugene Wigner. The third subseries contains material related to the publication of the two documentary histories on Leo Szilard, THE COLLECTED WORKS OF LEO SZILARD and LEO SZILARD, HIS VERSION OF THE FACTS, that Gertrude Weiss Szilard worked on as an editor. The Photographs subseries contains formal and informal portraits of Gertrude Weiss Szilard alone and with colleagues and friends.