L.C. Dunn was one of the most significant figures in the emerging field of developmental genetics in the 20th century. His T-locus work with the mouse established a number of important genetic principles, including ideas of gene interaction, the distribution of alleles in wild populations, and the factors that influence fertility. He wrote an important textbook of genetics, Principles of Genetics (1925), in collaboration with Sinnott (and later Dobzhansky); other significant books authored or co-authored by him include Heredity, Race and Society (1946), and A Short History of Genetics (1965). He worked in poultry genetics for eight years at the Agricultural Experiment Station in Storrs, CT, from 1920-1928. The remainder of his career was spent at Columbia University, where he worked with rats, mice, and fruit flies, and proved himself to be an inspiring teacher as well. His interest in international scientific collaboration led him to establish ties to Soviet scientists, and to help relocate refugee scientists during World War II. He remained active in his profession to the end of his life. This collection includes correspondence, reports, notebooks, lectures, and photographs. It is a rich collection, documenting the development of American genetics as well as Dunn's interests in humanitarian efforts and international affairs. There is significant material relating to American-U.S.S.R. contacts, particularly in the files on the American-Soviet Friendship Council and the American-Soviet Science Society. There is much, as well, on the impact of the Lysenko controversy in the U. S. Dunn's interest in European scientists can also be seen in the sizable amount of material on the Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced German Scholars. Material relating to the Kilgore and Magnusson bills for the support of science (predecessors to the NSF) are also in the collection. Of note are data on the following: National Research Council Committee on Experimental Animals and Plants; research on the population study of the Jewish community in Rome; and Columbia University. There is much in the correspondence concerning Drosophila, poultry genetics, and other such topics; Walter Landauer is Dunn's major correspondent.

One of the four horsemen of the evolutionary synthesis of the 1940s, Theodosius Dobzhansky played a crucial role in bridging the gap between theoretical and empirical approaches in genetics and in promoting the Neo-Darwinian synthesis. His contributions to the biological species concept and to an understanding the evolutionary dynamics of wild populations of Drosophila were fundamental to the development of modern population genetics and evolutionary thought. The Dobzhansky Papers are a remnant of the correspondence and writings of the geneticist and evolutionary biologist, Theodosius Dobzhansky. The correspondence (7.5 linear feet) provides insight into Dobzhansky's scientific, philosophical, and social views, particularly during the last decade of his life. Equally valuable are the 54 notebooks (ca.1917-1975) which comprise an almost uninterrupted self-commentary on Dobzhansky's career, replete with typescripts of personal letters and short essays sent to colleagues and friends. The collection also contains two unbound volumes of annotated "reminiscences" from the Columbia Oral History Project, 1962; two bound volumes of papers dedicated to him on his 70th birthday; and 1.5 linear feet of photographs.