TY - MANSCPT DB - Science History Institute DP - Science History Institute M2 - Courtesy of Science History Institute. Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, S TI - Gerhard Herzberg, interviewed by M. Christine King in National Research Council of Canada on May 5, 1986 ID - 2f75r9019 PB - Science History Institute CY - Philadelphia AV - Oral History Transcript 0023 VL - Oral History Transcript 0023 AN - Oral History Transcript 0023 UR - https://digital.sciencehistory.org/works/2f75r9019 AB - Gerhard Herzberg descries 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 spectrospic studies was with Hans Rau, himself a student of Wien. A seminal year at Gottingen followed where Herzberg studied with both James Franck and Max Born; it was during this time that the basis for the well known monographs was first established. A further postdoctoral year at Bristol with Lennard Jones 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. As a coda, Herzberg is asked about his involvement with chemists, especially with those concerned with free radicals. KW - Steacie, E. W. R. (Edgar William Richard), 1900-1962 KW - Spectrum analysis KW - Physicists--Biography KW - Herzberg, Gerhard, 1904-1999 KW - National Research Council of Canada KW - Molecular spectroscopy KW - Nobel Prize winners LA - English ER -