Francis Crick – new papers available for study

23 September 2005

The Wellcome Library's Archives and Manuscripts department has released for study 134 new boxes of papers by Francis Crick (1916-2004).

Crick's papers were purchased by the Library in late 2001 and cataloguing has proceeded in phases since then. In 2004, 100 boxes of papers were released dealing with Crick's early years and his discovery with James Watson of the structure of DNA. Now another batch of papers dealing with the second half of Crick's career is available to researchers.

In the mid-1970s Crick moved to the Salk Institute in San Diego to pursue what had become his main topic of research: a neurobiological cause for the phenomenon of consciousness. The papers just released deal chiefly with his work following this move. They include: voluminous correspondence in which well-known figures such as Sir Roger Penrose, Jonathan Miller and Richard Dawkins appear; information on lectures and papers delivered around the world; drafts, working papers and illustrations; and a set of publications covering both Crick's own productions and those of persons building or commenting on his work.

Consciousness research, however, is not the only theme of the papers. After his work on DNA, Crick was a scientific superstar and another fascinating theme of these papers is the life of the celebrity scientist. His work on DNA pursued him, with constant requests for references, quotes and speaking engagements. Crick's strategies for dealing with this barrage of claims on his time notoriously included pre-printed, multiple-choice postcards stating that he was unable to give a paper, accept an honorary degree and so forth. However, he was also very capable of giving time generously to people outside the profession of science. Among the most engaging items in the collection are the letters Crick wrote to schoolchildren, advising them on how to become a scientist - his willingness to devote time to fostering the next generation of researchers is striking. (For example, file PP/CRI/K/5/6 describes his attendance at the annual careers day of the Bishop's School in La Jolla, California, speaking about how he became a scientist). The archive includes childrens' letters of thanks and some of their drawings of the young Francis Crick carrying out the experiments with blowing things up that he described as his first steps into scientific research! A poignant strand to his celebrity is the large number of letters from people affected by serious illness, hoping that he might turn his mind to that particular problem next; there are many sympathetic responses to such letters. The non-scientists who could be guaranteed a brisk brush-off were the evangelists who wrote attempting to bring this high-profile atheist to God.

This material is available to researchers in the Wellcome Library now. Cataloguing of the third and final batch of Crick papers, a smaller collection that wraps up his final years, will begin shortly.

For further information visit the Wellcome Library's online catalogue of the Archives and Manuscripts collection, searching on Reference = PP/CRI to find the Crick collection, or contact the department of Archives and Manuscripts:
T +44 (0)20 7611 8899
E arch+mss@wellcome.ac.uk