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Dr. Louise Hanson Marshall (1908-2003) -- In Memoriam 

I am deeply saddened to report the death of our colleague, Louise 
Marshall.

The Neuroscience History Archives will host a memorial for Louise on 
the UCLA campus in late October or early November. We are also 
organizing a Memory Book of tributes from colleagues and friends, a 
copy of which will be given to the family and one which will go in the 
Louise H. Marshall Papers.  Feel free to contact me about this or any 
related matters (e.g. contact information for her son, Tom Marshall, 
and daughter, Alice Martin) at:

	Russell A. Johnson
	Neuroscience History Archives
	Brain Research Institute, UCLA
	Box 951761     
	Los Angeles CA  90095-1761
	http://www.NeuroscienceArchives.org
	1-310-206-2753
	rjohnson@library.ucla.edu

I personally owe a huge debt of gratitude to Louise--a mentor, boss, 
and friend--because she showed me it was possible to pursue the history 
of neuroscience as an archivist, and then made it so.  

Respectfully,

Russell Johnson


The following is the memorial which was sent to members of UCLA's Brain 
Research Institute:

* * * * *

Dear Friends,

I am deeply saddened to report that Louise Hanson Marshall, Ph.D., died this
past Saturday, July 12, at the age of 94.  As most of you know, Louise was
Director Emerita of the UCLA Neuroscience History Archives and has been
involved with the BRI since 1975.  Louise was a remarkable woman, and her
energy and dedication were an inspiration to all who knew her.  As Allan
Tobin noted in his nomination of Louise for the Women in Neuroscience (WIN)
Special Recognition Award, Louise has been a great friend to the
neuroscience community both nationally and at UCLA, and she epitomized a
spirit of continuing inquiry.

In Louise’s memory, we are putting together a book of memories and anecdotes
about Louise.  Russell Johnson, who has done so much work with the
Neuroscience History Archives, is coordinating this, so please send your
anecdotes and memories to him at rjohnson@library.ucla.edu.

The Neuroscience History Archives (NHA) began when Louise Marshall and
Horace "Tid" Magoun established the Neuroscience History Resource Program
(NHRP) at UCLA in 1980, which evolved into the Neuroscience History Archives
(www.neurosciencearchives.org).  For many years Louise worked full-time as
Director of the NHA without taking salary or compensation, out of pure
dedication.  It was only at the age of 92 that she chose to reduce her work
hours and take the role of Director Emerita, turning over the reins to Dr.
Joel Braslow.

Louise's many achievements include the recent publication of American
Neuroscience in the Twentieth Century by Horace W. Magoun, which she edited
and compiled from Dr. Magoun's papers, and the 1998 publication of
_Discoveries in the Human Brain: Neuroscience Prehistory, Brain 
Structure, and Function, co-authored by Louise H. Marshall and Horace 
W. Magoun.  Just before her death, Louise completed a biographical 
tribute on Horace W. Magoun for the National Academy of Sciences.

In 2002, Louise was a recipient of the Lifetime Contribution Award from 
the International Society for the History of the Neurosciences, at the 
Eighth Annual meeting of the ISHN, held on the UCLA campus.  In 2001, 
Louise was the first recipient of the Women in Neuroscience Special 
Recognition Award. In the citation accompanying that honor, it 
was noted that she had "...sequentially, three complete scientific 
careers on top of a rich personal and family life: first, as a 
physiologist; second, as a facilitator, organizer, and editor 
of neuroscience and neuroscientists; and third, as an historian of
neuroscience.  ...because of her contributions to efforts to define and
survey the field, launch a professional society (Society for Neuroscience),
and document the history of its practitioners, organizations, and ideas, she
has truly been a woman in neuroscience."

Louise received her Ph.D. in Physiology from the University of Chicago in
1935, following undergraduate work at Vassar.  She began her career as a
research physiologist who taught courses in nutrition, metabolism, and
excretion.  She took time off to start a family, then joined the NIH wartime
Aviation Medicine Unit, followed by twenty years with the National Institute
of Arthritis and Metabolic Disorders, working in the field of renal
physiology.  She joined the National Research Council (NRC) at the National
Academy of Sciences in 1965.

Quoting again from the WIN Special Recognition Award citation, "As the NRC
staff officer responsible for the Committee on Brain Sciences, Dr. Marshall
was instrumental in helping to shepherd the founding of the Society of
Neuroscience and served as its first Secretary-Treasurer and newsletter
editor.  Under her directorship, the IBRO Survey of Research Facilities and
Manpower in Brain Sciences in the United States (Washington, DC: National
Academy of Sciences, 1968) sought to define the nascent field of
'neuroscience' and to determine who was doing what kind of brain and
behavior research, and where."

In 1975, Louise joined the UCLA Brain Research Institute as managing editor
of the journal Experimental Neurology.  After her official "retirement" in
1979, she continued to work for more than twenty years, devoting herself to
the field of neuroscience history and to the task of establishing that field
as a discipline in itself. As noted in the WIN citation, the SFN's "display
of history-themed posters is due in no small part to Dr. Marshall's
foresight and persistent example, as well as her unflagging lobbying of the
SFN Council for a separate 'History' theme session--at first as a voice in
the wilderness trying to promote the production and recognition of high
caliber historical research, and finally as one of a growing body of
presenters whom the Council acknowledged by creating the 'History of
Neuroscience' poster theme."

Through Louise's dedication and leadership, the UCLA Neuroscience History
Archives have played a major role in preserving neuroscience history and in
educating new generations about the legacy on which the discipline is
founded. The NHA responds to inquiries from all over the world, and has
created an ongoing heritage documenting the history of neuroscience and the
progress of the discipline. The NHA identifies, collects, and preserves
primary source materials, assists neuroscientists who seek to have their
papers preserved and made available for study, and facilitates neuroscience
history research and education.

A memorial program will be held on the UCLA campus in October or November.
In lieu of flowers, Dr. Marshall's family has requested that contributions
be made in her memory to the Francis Parker School in San Diego,
California, or to the Neuroscience History Archives, UCLA Brain Research
Institute. Additional information will be sent in the near future.

On behalf of Allan Tobin and myself, I want to say how much we will all miss
Louise's great spirit as well as her unflagging dedication to neuroscience
and the BRI. Many generations of scientists and historians will reap the
benefits of her untiring efforts to carefully document the evolution of the
neurosciences in its stages of infancy. Her death is a great loss, both
personally and professionally.

Sincerely yours,

Reggie

V. Reggie Edgerton
Acting Director, UCLA Brain Research Institute

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