Gerhard Herzberg

In this interview the late Christine King starts by asking Gerhard Herzberg to describe his schooling in Germany. An interest in science and mathematics was kindled at his school in Hamburg; indeed, Herzberg's first interest was astronomy. More practical considerations led him to follow the engineering physics course at Darmstadt, where he graduated with his doctoral degree in 1928. His introduction to spectroscopic studies was with Hans Rau, himself a student of Wien. A seminal year at Göttingen followed where Herzberg studied with both James Franck and Max Born; it was during this time that the basis for the well­known monographs was first established. A further postdoctoral year at Bristol with Lennard­Jones was followed by his return to Darmstadt as Privatdozent but the worsening political situation prompted Herzberg to seek a position abroad. He next describes his time at the University of Saskatchewan and how he was able to continue research, despite limited equipment. Analysis of cometary spectra led Herzberg into astrophysics which was further developed during the three year spell at the Yerkes Observatory. During the final section of the interview, Herzberg tells of his return to Canada and reflects on research direction at the National Research Council and the circumstances of the award of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1971. Finally, Christine King learns of Herzberg's pastimes, in particular of his love of choral singing. As a coda, Herzberg is asked about his involvement with chemists, especially with those concerned with free radicals.

University of Göttingen

1928 - 1929 Postdoctoral Fellow

University of Bristol

1929 - 1930 Postdoctoral Fellow

Darmstadt Technische Universität

1930 - 1935 Privatdozent

University of Saskatchewan

1935 - 1945 Research Professor of Physics

University of Chicago

1945 - 1948 Professor of Spectroscopy, Yerkes Observatory

National Research Council of Canada

1948 - 1949 Principal Research Officer

National Research Council of Canada

1949 - 1955 Director, Division of Physics

National Research Council of Canada

1955 - 1969 Director, Division of Pure Physics

National Research Council of Canada

1969 - 1999 Distinguished Research Scientist, Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics

M. Christine King

Mary Christine King was born in China and educated in Ireland. She obtained a B.Sc. degree in chemistry from the University of London in 1968, which was followed by an M.Sc. in polymer and fiber science (1970) and a Ph.D. for a thesis on the hydrodynamic properties of paraffins in solution (1973), both from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. After working with Joseph Needham at Cambridge, she received a Ph.D. in the history and philosophy of science from the Open University (1980) and thereafter worked at the University of California, Berkeley, and at the University of Ottawa, where she carried out research with Dr. Keith Laidler. King died in an automobile accident in late 1987; her recent biography E. W. R. Steacie and Science in Canada (University of Toronto Press, 1989) was published posthumously.