Statement by the President Upon Announcing the Recipients of the National Medal of Science Awards
This medal serves as a symbol of the Nation's desire to recognize outstanding achievement, to set an example for our youth, and to depict to the world the depth and variety of American accomplishment in science and engineering.
This richness and diversity are well illustrated by the men being honored. Yet, these 11 awards represent only a sampling of this country's great scientific leadership.
For example, Hugh Dryden's recent death ended nearly 50 years of single-minded devotion and effort by one of the most distinguished civil servants this country has ever known. Beloved by all his associates and respected throughout the world, Dr. Dryden more than any other man let us into the age of jet aircraft and space exploration.
The careers of the other medalists are equally inspiring. All of them have contributed greatly to our knowledge of the world and the universe in which we live. They have made key discoveries ranging from the virus theory of cancer to neutrinos, superconductivity, and the transistor. Their work encompasses genetics and algebraic geometry, the principles of supersonic flight and the design of such remarkable aircraft as the U-2 and the A-11. They have extended our life span through greater understanding of the causes of disease and through devising accurate methods of understanding the composition of our bodies. They have enriched our understanding of the history of our planet and of the frontier of the mind. They have advanced our economic welfare and our national security.
Many of these men are great teachers. A few have had to defend their discoveries in the face of determined opposition. All represent the best in science.
I hope that through these awards more Americans will come to recognize and to appreciate the wealth of talent in our midst and the extraordinary progress which these gifted people inspire.
Note: The President's statement was made public as part of a White House release announcing the names of the 1965 recipients of the National Medal of Science. The release stated that the medal, established by Congress in 1959, was awarded to outstanding scientists on the basis of recommendations received from the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science under the chairmanship of Dr. H. E. Carter of the University of Illinois.
The names of the 1965 recipients follow: Dr. John Bardeen, Professor of Physics and Electrical Engineering, University of Illinois; Dr. Peter J. W. Debye, Professor Emeritus, Department of Chemistry, Cornell University; Dr. Hugh L. Dryden, former Deputy Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and first posthumous recipient of the National Medal of Science; Dr. Clarence L. Johnson, Vice President for Advanced Development Projects, Lockheed Aircraft Corporation; Dr. Warren K. Lewis, Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Dr. F. Peyton Rous, associated with the Rockefeller Institute; Dr. William W. Rubey, Professor of Geology and Geophysics, University of California at Los Angeles; Dr. George G. Simpson, Agassiz Professor of Vertebrate Paleontology, Harvard University; Dr. Donald D. Van Slyke, research chemist, Brookhaven National Laboratory; Dr. Oscar Zariski, Professor of Mathematics, Harvard University; and Dr. Leon M. Lederman, Professor of Physics, Columbia University.
Biographies of the recipients are printed in the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (vol. 1, p. 586).
The statement was released at Austin, Tex.
Lyndon B. Johnson, Statement by the President Upon Announcing the Recipients of the National Medal of Science Awards Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/240916