Authors

John Paul Scott

Document Type

Response or Comment

Publication Date

8-22-1986

Keywords

Interview, Jackson Laboratory, History, Scientists, Transcript, Susan Mehrtens, Hamilton Station

JAX Location

The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine

JAX Source

The Jackson Laboratory Historical Archives

Abstract

Susan Mehrtens' Note:

Dr. J.P. Scott was the head of animal behavioral research at Hamilton Station. He carne to our meeting with a thoughtful outline, and spoke to it for most of our interview. His tape, as a result, is mostly a monologue. This tape is extremely valuable because Jax threw away all the records of Hamilton Station, so only the accounts of Scott, Fuller and Fox (in this project) can provide a record of this aspect of the Lab's past. Scott indicates how pervasive was the network in which his work was conducted, and how many noteworthy figures or students (later to become outstanding scientists) passed through his lab between 1~45 and 1965. Whatever may have been the feelings or relationship between Scott and Earl Green, Scott is mum. His reasons for leaving Jax, he suggests, were purely personal opportunity and an eagerness to return to teaching. Others at the Lab suggest a clash between Green and Scott over the role of Hamilton Station, his rank, etc., causing Scott to leave with some measure of ill will. Certainly, once Scott left, the animal behavior work quickly wound down, which Scott notes on this tape. Scott's loyalty to Hamilton Station is obvious on this tape. Handle this valuable tape with some caveats as to its objectivity. Its merits lie in the fact that it is articulate, thoughtful, and vital to a wider appreciation of the diverse roles Jax was playing. Supplement Scott's account here with the tapes of Fox and Fuller.

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