Alan W. Bernheimer Sr. Collection

Alan W. Bernheimer received his B.S. and A.M. from Temple University and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1942. In 1941, Bernheimer joined the Department of Microbiology at the New York University School of Medicine as an instructor in bacteriology. Bernheimer he remained at NYU until his death in 2006, as Emeritus Professor. He served as chair of Basic Medical Sciences, 1969-74. .

Bernheimer's contributions to the field of bacterial pathogenesis were wide ranging, and included the development of a vaccine for gas gangrene during World War II. By purifying and characterizing cytotoxins from dozens of common and rare bacterial pathogens, Bernheimer's work defines an important theme of tissue damage during infections. He was a meticulous and patient researcher, and remained at the bench throughout his career. A naturalist from childhood, he compared toxins across phylogenetic barriers. He studied toxins from insects, snakes, and sea anemones, and showed mechanistic and serological relatedness with bacterial agents. The demonstration of a phospholipase D in the venom of the brown recluse spider that was closely related to the corynebacterial enzyme was reported in Science in 1985.

Bernheimer was honored by ASM, then the American Society of Bacteriology, in 1948 by the Eli Lilly Award. He was funded by NIH throughout his career, including a career fellowship (1962-84), and was a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. He was a trustee of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (1963-8) and served as consultant to the Surgeon General of the U.S, 1957-60. Bernheimer was a summer investigator in the Marine Biological Lab in Woods Hole, Mass. He published more than 150 papers, and edited several books.

In 1889, John D. Jones gave former land and buildings of the Cold Spring Whaling Company, located on the southwestern shore of Cold Spring Harbor, to the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences (BIAS). BIAS used the gift to establish a Biological Laboratory (Bio Lab) for training high school teachers and college professors in marine biology. Contemporary biologists and naturalists often established their laboratories on shorelines, where there was an abundance of plants and animals to study.

In 1917, the Bio Lab officially become one of four departments at BIAS, along with the Brooklyn Art Museum, the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, and the Brooklyn Zoo. An endowment fund was raised from contributions from its Cold Spring Harbor neighbors.

In 1924, BIAS turned over Bio Lab ownership and administration to the Cold Spring Harbor community, where it was incorporated as part of the Long Island Biological Association (LIBA).

The Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum opened its doors to the public in 1942 and is the only year-round facility in New York that focuses primarily on whaling—one of Long Island’s earliest major industries—and local maritime history. One of the founding members of the museum, Dr. Charles Davenport, was also Director of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory from 1898-1934. Dr. Davenport died from pneumonia after spending two days boiling the head of a whale for the museum in 1936.

The museum’s 6,000 artifacts document the whaling and maritime history of both Cold Spring Harbor and Long Island. Highlights of the collection include New York State’s only fully-equipped 19th century whaleboat with original gear and a large scrimshaw collection. Additional objects include whaling implements, ship’s gear, navigational aids, ship models, and maritime art.

The library and archive contain 2,800 primary and secondary volumes as well as manuscript materials from the Cold Spring whaling fleet, such as ship’s logs, journals and business correspondence of the Cold Spring Whaling Company, family documents dealing with maritime commerce, records of the Long Island coastwise trade under sail, and records from the Cold Spring Harbor Custom House.