03. Special Collections
Record Group
Identifier: 03
CSHL Special Collections houses the history of molecular biology, genetics, and biotechnology worldwide. In addition to the Rare Book Collection and the Oral History Collection, it includes the personal collections of numerous notable scientists. Collections of note include the Sydney Brenner Collection, the Hermann Muller Collection, and the Matthew Meselson Collection. Generally, Special Collection materials consist of correspondence, photographs, laboratory notebooks, administrative files, memorabilia, and audiovisual media.
Found in 23 Collections and/or Records:

Oral History Collection
Collection
Identifier: OH
Scope and Contents
The Oral History Collection contains interviews conducted with 200 scientists within the fields of molecular biology, genetics, and the life sciences between 1990 and 2024. The interviewees provide first-hand accounts of their experiences in the fields of modern biology, such as neuroscience, cancer, genetics, plant genetics, genomics, biotechnology and others, from the 1940s through the 2000s. The collection contains audio and video recordings, as well as transcripts of interviews....
Dates:
1990 - 2024
Found in:
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Archives
Hermann J. Muller Collection
Collection
Identifier: HJM
Abstract
Dr. Elof Axel Carlson, a graduate student of H.J. Muller's at Indiana University, a geneticist, and a historian of genetics, donated this collection to the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Archives. He began gathering the material in this collection while studying with H.J. Muller, although he obtained the bulk of the collection while conducting research for Genes, Radiation and Society, his biography of H.J. Muller. He received materials from Dorothea Muller (the wife of H.J. Muller), from...
Dates:
1900-1982
Found in:
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Archives
Sydney Brenner Collection
Collection
Identifier: SB
Abstract
The Sydney Brenner Collection consists of over 300 manuscript boxes of materials documenting the life of Dr. Sydney Brenner, documenting his early years as a student in South Africa, to his work as a scientist and administrator at the Medical Research Council (MRC) and other institutions, to his role in the biotechnology industry in the United Kingdom.
Dates:
1927 - 2023
Found in:
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Archives