WILLIAM S. GUMP, THE MAN AND THE SCIENTIST By R. E. HORSE¾ IT •s INDEED a great pleasure and privilege to be here this evening to take part in this award to my good friend and associate, Dr. William Gump. Even with the shadow of rigged programs of all sorts hovering overhead, I have no fear of telling you of my high personal esteem for Dr. Gump both as a scientist and as a person. The Society should be congratulated in the selection of Dr. Gump for this high honor. My pleasant assignment this evening is to acquaint you with the high- lights of the life and career of your Medalist. I am sure you will pardon my informality of using Dr. Gump's first name during these remarks, but it is too difficult to be formal after these many years of association. William Simon Gump was born in Ellwagen, Germany, June 12, 1897. In his early years the family moved to Ulm and it was in this city that he attended the gymnasium. As Bill's father was a lawyer there was some influence to have him pursue this profession, but already chemistry in- trigued him while in the gymnasium. An unconfirmed report relates some rather drastic experiments with explosives which today would have classi- fied him as a juvenile delinquent. However, he avoided the minions of the law and we find him entering the University of Munich in 1916 to study chemistry. Unfortunately, his studies were interrupted by military service and it was not until 1919 that he resumed his studies at the University of Tuebingen. He remained here but a year and then returned to the more exciting city of Munich and its University. It was during these years that Bill showed his first interest in chemo- therapy. Though the details are not complete, this was an extracurricular activity and involved the thorough investigation of the questionable therapeutic effects and untoward reactions of the hydroxyl radical present in various lagers, widely distributed in the famous Munich beer gardens. Nevertheless, his academic studies did not suffer, and in 1923 he received his Ph.D. in chemistry. The subject of his thesis was "The Cleavage of Furfuryl Alcohol and Mechanism of the Formation of Levulinic Acid from Hexoses." From the university we find William in Hamburg, Germany, working as an organic chemist for Chemische Fabrik Stoltzenberg. 304

ELEVENTH MEDAL AWARD 305 It was liere that he meets the colleague who is to influence his life and work for all the years to come. This was no other than Dr. Ilse Ernst who so many of us know only as Mrs. Gump. One of their earliest collaborations is described in a paper on the "Ab- sorption of Carbon Monoxide by Cuprous Ammonium Salts." But as we all know, the course of true love never runs smoothly and Dr. Ernst is transferred to Spain. Not long after this Bill receives an opportunity to go to the United States which he did, but only after a detour by way of Spain where he exacted a promise from Ilse to follow him to America. He arrived here in 1926 and continued in organic research for Benzol Products Company in Newark, N.J. In 1927, true to her promise, Ilse arrived here and they were duly married in New York City. Later this same year Bill moved to St. Louis to join The Monsanto Chemical Co. as an organic research chemist. The second collaboration of the now two Dr. Gumps resulted in the birth of their son, Dr. Frank E. Gump, in 1928. Frank and his wife are with us this evening lie is currently a Resident in Surgery at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. We now come to the year 1929 and after being subjected to near beer and various qualities of home brew, Bill could stand it no longer and returned with his family to Germany. Unfortunately, he did not reckon with the world depression and this plus the early rantings of a paper hanger by the name of Adolf Hitler convinced him lie should return to the United States. The short sojourn in Germany though was not without its reward since the Gumps were blessed with a daughter, Mrs. Linda E. Marshall. She and her husband are also here this evening. On his return to the States, Bill was connected for a short time with the Ansco Company in Binghamton, N.Y., but that plague we called the depression intervened and in 1931 William joined the Trudeau Foundation at the Trudeau Sanatorium at Saranac Lake, N.Y. Here his interest in chemotherapy and bacteriology really bloomed since his activity concerned the syntheses of organic chemicals for the chemo- therapy of tuberculosis and other bacterial diseases. For the next three years he is deeply engrossed in his work. With their fondness for hiking, the Gumps developed a deep feeling for the Adiron- dack Mountains which continues to this day. Also while at Saranac, their second son, Dieter, was born in 1933. This son is following in the footsteps of his brother and at the present time is a fourth year medical student at Johns Hopkins University. Unfortunately he could not be here tonight to pay tribute to his father. Once more the economics of the times influences the career of our medal- ist. Due to lack of funds the Trudeau Foundation had to curtail their activities and William joins in 1934 the Electro-Technical Products Co.