Brief historical timeline for Carnegie Institution of Washington
(CIW) at Cold Spring Harbor:
1904-1921 STATION FOR EXPERIMENTAL EVOLUTION
Department of Carnegie Institution of Washington
Director: Dr. Charles B. Davenport
*On Saturday, June 11, 1904, there was a gala ceremony to mark the formal opening of
the Carnegie Institutions Station for Experimental Evolution. It was evident that
the Carnegie Institution of Washington was serious about making Cold Spring Harbor the
site of serious year-round research.
1921-1962 DEPARTMENT OF GENETICS OF CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON (Merger
of Station for Experimental Evolution and Eugenics Records Office)
Director: 1921-1934 Dr. Charles B. Davenport 1934-1941 Dr. Albert F. Blakeslee
1941-1960 Dr. Milislav Demerec 1960-1962 Dr. Berwind P. Kaufmann
*In 1962 Caryl Haskins, then president of CIW closed down the Dept. of Genetics and
hand over its physical resources to the Bio Lab provided it could become a financially
viable organization. If this could be accomplished the CIW would continue to support
Barbara McClintock and Alfred Hershey at Cold Spring Harbor.
1962-1971 GENETICS RESEARCH UNIT Carnegie Institution of Washington
Director: 1962-1971 Dr. Alfred D. Hershey
* Text taken from "The First Hundred Years: A History of Man and Science at
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory".
CIW Monographs in the CSHL Archives
CIW files in the CSHL Archives