LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

119

A SMALL MEMORIAL

To the Editor: The article by James V. Neel entitled "Our Twenty-fifth" [1] is a short history of the development of the American Society of Human Genetics and its publication, the American Journal of Human Genetics. We would like to add a small bit of history which Neel omitted, probably because he was unaware of it. As Neel points out, the original membership was only about 250 persons. This was not large enough to ensure viability. Franz J. Kallmann, one of the founders of both the Society and the Journal became its fourth president in 1952, and it was during his presidency that much of the groundwork was accomplished which resulted in the future growth and prosperity of the Society. One of us (S. C. R.) was secretary of the Society from 1952 through 1954, and into 1955 due to the absence of the newly elected secretary, D. C. Rife, and remembers very well Franz Kallmann's efforts during that time. Franz Kallmann was by far the most active of the presidents during this early period and continued his activities on behalf of the Society after his term as president expired. He was active on two fronts, at least. The first was in the area of soliciting new members, with the result that many physicians who were not particularly interested in human genetics became members in order to help out the good cause. Some of them acquired sufficient knowledge of human genetics, as a result of their membership, to become active and valued participants in the Society and contributors to its Journal. Their membership was vital to the viability of the Society until finally a critical mass of new members was obtained over the years. Many of those members who were really interested in human genetics fortunately are still with us. The other area in which Franz Kallmann expended a great deal of energy is vividly recalled by the other of us (L. F. J.) who witnessed his tireless struggle to secure funds for the support of the Society, including those which made possible the initial publication of the Journal and the early William Allan Memorial Award. He approached every conceivable source and spared no effort in attempting to communicate his conviction that it was important to have an organization

which would bring together academicians, clinicians, and basic scientists, allowing them to comingle, exchange information, and eventually collaborate as human

geneticists.

It seems most appropriate to add these notes to the record, as a small memorial to one who made a very large contribution to the growth of human genetics in this country and abroad. SHELDON C. REED1 AND Lissy F. JARVIK2 REFERENCE 1. NEEL JV: Our twenty-fifth. Am J Hum Genet 26:136-144, 1974 1 Dight Institute for Human Genetics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455. 2Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90024.

Letter: A small memorial.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 119 A SMALL MEMORIAL To the Editor: The article by James V. Neel entitled "Our Twenty-fifth" [1] is a short history of the de...
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