Robert Olby

Robert Cecil Olby (born in 1933) is a research professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh. Formerly at the University of Leeds, UK, Robert Olby is known as a historian of nineteenth and twentieth century biology, his special fields being genetics and molecular biology. He is very well known for his work on the history of biology (see list of works at his webpage). He is fairly well known outside of biology, having frequently been asked to participate in various commemorations of famous scientific events ( [http://www.nature.com/nature/insights/6921.html example] ) and to comment on science topics for the mass media ( [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/selfmadethings_20050817.shtml example] ).

He has almost completed a scientific biography of the late Francis Crick, co-discoverer with James D. Watson of the structure of DNA in 1953 for publication by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press in June 2009, with support from the National Science Foundation and the award of an Archives Fellowship at Churchill College, Cambridge. The new biography has 20 chapters and is 450 pages long, its publication before Crick's death in 2004 was not allowed by Crick; at almost 166,000 words the new book will be the definitive biography of the late Francis Crick.

His major contribution to the history of molecular biology is well documented in The History of the University of Cambridge: Volume 4 (1870 to 1990) published by CUP in 1992, by direct reference to his "The Path to the Double Helix: The Discovery of DNA", first published in 1974, and revised and republished in 1994. His Francis Crick biography will be the pinnacle of a long career in scientific writing during which he has interviewed many leading British and American scientists including Bernal, Brenner, Crick, Huxley, Klug, Perutz, Watson and Wilkins.

Books/papers by Robert Olby

* "Charles Darwin"; Oxford University Press, London, 1967, 64pp.

* "Early Nineteenth Century European Scientists"; Pergamon Press, 1967, 179pp. ISBN 0-415-14578-3

*"The Origins of Mendelism"; Constable 1966. 204 pages ISBN 0-226-62592-3

* 'Rosalind Elsie Franklin' biography in "Dictionary of Scientific Biography", ed. Charles C. Gillespie (New York: Charles Scribner's sons) ISBN: 0684101211

*"The Path to the Double Helix: The Discovery of DNA"; University of Washington Press, Seattle 1974 & revised 1994) ISBN 0-486-68117-3

* "Companion to the History of Modern Science" (ed.); Routledge, London, 1990, 1081pp. ISBN 0-415-01988-5

* "Robert Darlington: Forgotten Prophet of Genetics", American Scientist Nov-Dec 2004

* [http://chem-faculty.ucsd.edu/joseph/CHEM13/DNA1.pdf "Quiet debut for the double helix"] "Nature" 421 (January 23, 2003): 402-405.

*Oxford Dictionary of National Biography:‘Huxley, Sir Julian Sorell (1887–1975)’, first published Sept 2004, 2680 words

*Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: ‘Bernal, (John) Desmond (1901–1971)’, first published Sept 2004, 2870 words, with portrait illustration

* "Francis Crick: A Biography", Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, ISBN 9780879697983, to be published in June 2009; 450 pp; contents:

d Time LineIntroduction1. "You're a Dog If You Haven't Got A Nobel Prize" (Sydney Brenner)2. A Difficult Act to Follow3. From the Provinces to the Big City4. War Work for the Royal Navy5. Biology at the Strangeways6. Helical Molecules at the Cavendish Laboratory7. The DNA Fiasco8. "Two Pitchmen in Search of A Helix" (Erwin Chargaff) 9. A Most Important Discovery10. Publishing the Model11. Employed by "the John Wayne of Crystallography" (Vittorio Luzzati)12. The Genetic Code13. Preaching the Central Dogma14. Crick as Experimentalist15. The Excitement of the Sixties 16. Speaking out on Controversial Subjects17. Biological Complexity18. Leaving the 'Old Country19. Taking the Plunge: Neuroscience20. Eighty-eight YearsBiographical IndexSubject Index [c. 166,000 words in total]

* [http://www.oxforddnb.com/public/dnb/93883.html] Oxford National Dictionary of Biography entry;‘Crick, Francis Harry Compton (1916–2004)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online edn, Oxford University Press, Jan 2008

'Perutz, Max Ferdinand (1914-2002), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online edn, Oxford University Press, Jan 2008

'Wilkins, Maurice Hugh Frederick (1916-2004), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online edn, Oxford University Press, Jan 2008

ee also

*History of biology
*Charles Darwin
*Gregor Mendel

External links

* [http://www.pitt.edu/~hpsdept/people/fac_pages/olby.html His webpage]

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_Spring_Harbor_Laboratory for Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

* [http://www.amphilsoc.org/library/mole/o/olby.htm Robert C. Olby Collection]
* [http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/specialcollections/coll/pauling/dna/quotes/olby.html Quotes on Linus Pauling and The Race for DNA] from the Oregon State University web site.
* [http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/article702961.ece Article on Consciousness] Independent On Line, 7th June 2006.
* [http://www.fleurolby.com/ For Fleur Olby's web site.]
* [http://www.packer34.freeserve.co.uk/rememberingfranciscrickacelebration.htm For Martin Packer's web site: Remembering Francis Crick.]
* [http://library.wellcome.ac.uk/doc_WTL040211.html] "Correspondence between Crick and Robert Olby regarding draft chapters of Olby (1974) The Path to the Double Helix: the Discovery of DNA , and Crick's detailed comments on portions of Olby's draft text. The comments (in holograph and typescript) are divided into three types: 'Very General Remarks', 'Less General Remarks' and 'Detailed Remarks'. In addition, Crick has made editorial amendments to his 'recorded remarks' made in interview. Also included is Crick's 'Foreword' (in holograph and typescript drafts) to the book." (The Wellcome Library)