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Stamp unveiled for Linus Pauling
In well-attended ceremony, Linus Pauling received new honors in form of USPS stamp
Chris H. Johnson
Issue date: 3/7/08 Section: News
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The 1922 alumnus, renowned chemist and humanitarian, Linus Pauling was honored posthumously with the unveiling of a nationally distributed stamp that features his likeness.
"We are pleased to honor Linus Pauling as one of the top twenty scientists in the world," said Corvallis Postmaster John Harrington.
After the ceremony, the Postal Service offered a commemorative one-day-only hand-stamped postmark designed specifically for the event.
The new stamp is part of a new series created by the Postal Service honoring American Scientists Gety Cori, Edwin Hubble, John Bardeen, and Linus Pauling. The event was hosted by a combined effort by OSU University Events, Special Collections and Printing and Mailing Services.
According to Special Collections' Cliff Mead, the Postal Service has been considering creating the new series of stamps for approximately two years.
Congresswoman Darlene Hooley (D-Ore.) stated that the series was selected by the USPS Citizen Stamp Advisory Committee out of thousands of recommendations. The stamp was initially submitted for consideration in 2001, but the Postal Service requires that candidates be deceased for ten years before being eligible to have a stamp dedicated to their names.
For the event, Special Collections and University Advancement developed a special envelope with an image of Pauling that contained an information sheet about his life and work. This packet was sold by Printing and Mailing Services as a special pre-stamped collectors' packet.
"These are beautiful and colorful stamps," said OSU alumna and stamp collector Phoebe Harrison of Albany.
All of the proceeds from the sales are going to the Linus Pauling Institute, said Cheryl Lyons, associate director of Printing and Mailing Services.
The Linus Pauling Institute performs micronutrient research with the goal of changing the balance of nutrients that humans ingest to achieve optimal health, said Stephen Lawson, administrative office for the Linus Pauling Institute.
Pauling is renowned for being instrumental in the understanding of proteins, Sickle Cell Amenia and orthomolecular medicine, said Lawson.
Pauling is the only recipient of two unshared Nobel Prizes. He received the Nobel Prize in 1954 for his study of the nature of the chemical bond. Pauling is also known for his dedication to promote global peace through his fight against the nuclear arms race.
He received the Nobel Peace prize in 1964 after gathering 11,000 signatures for a petition to ban nuclear testing, with Barry Commoner and Edward U. Condon. The petition was submitted to the United Nations in 1957. For this, he was persecuted said Haeger.
"The government clamped down on my father [because of this stand]," said Linus Pauling Jr.
The federal government pulled Pauling's research grants, revoked his passport, denied him the structure of DNA and charged with contempt of Congress, said Haeger and Lawson.
Despite all of this, "[Pauling] maintained his equilibrium during the McCarthy period," said Lawson.
Honored guests at the ceremony included Linus Pauling Jr., Linus Pauling biographer Thomas Haeger, Lawson and Congresswoman Hooley - who appeared in a pre-recorded video. OSU students and alumni, students from Linus Pauling Middle School, members of the local community and members of the philatelic community attended the event.
"It is a great thing that Linus Pauling gets to be on a stamp because we get to have a stamp for our special collection, and Linus Pauling Jr. gets to come to our school," said Keet, a seventh-grader from the middle school.
"It has been a great honor to have one of OSU's alums recognized nationally," said Associate Director of University Events Shelly Houghtaling.
Chris Johnson, staff writer
news@dailybarometer.com, 737-2231
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