Ava Helen Pauling (born Miller; December 24, 1903 – December 7, 1981) was an American

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

activist. Throughout her life, she was involved in various social movements including

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

racial equality Racial equality is when people of all Race (human categorization), races and Ethnic group, ethnicities are treated in an egalitarian/equal manner. Racial equality occurs when institutions give individuals legal, moral, and Civil and political r ...

, and international peace. An avid

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

er, Ava Helen Pauling was heavily interested in American politics and social reforms. She is credited with introducing her husband,

Linus Pauling Linus Carl Pauling ( ; February 28, 1901August 19, 1994) was an American chemist and peace activist. He published more than 1,200 papers and books, of which about 850 dealt with scientific topics. ''New Scientist'' called him one of the 20 gre ...

, to the field of

peace studies Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such ...

, for which he received the 1962

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

. Most prominent among the various causes she supported was the issue of ending

nuclear proliferation Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear weapons to additional countries, particularly those not recognized as List of states with nuclear weapons, nuclear-weapon states by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonl ...

. Ava Helen Pauling worked with her husband, advocating a stop to the production and use of

nuclear arms A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear expl ...

. Their campaigning helped lead to the Limited Test Ban Treaty between the United States and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, effectively ending the above-ground testing of nuclear weapons.

Biography

Early life

Ava Helen Miller was the tenth of twelve children of George and Elnora Gard Miller. She was raised on a farm outside Beavercreek, Oregon. Her father was a school teacher, and her mother expressed

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

ideals and encouraged liberal thinking and discussion in the home. Her husband Linus Pauling explained, "Ava Helen had been interested in social, political and economic problems ever since she was a teenager. She used to argue with a friend of the family, one of the judges of the Oregon State Supreme Court. She had a general interest in science and was very able, very smart, but she was really concerned about human beings. The humanistic concern she had was very great." At the age of thirteen, two years after the divorce of her parents, Ava Helen moved to

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, w ...

, to live with her sister. She graduated from Salem High School in May 1918, three years after entering, and then enrolled at

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

Higher education

Miller met Linus Pauling at

in 1922, where the still

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

Pauling taught a

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

course to

home economics Home economics, also called domestic science or family and consumer sciences (often shortened to FCS or FACS), is a subject concerning human development, personal and family finances, consumer issues, housing and interior design, nutrition and f ...

majors she was enrolled in. the two were married on June 17, 1923.

Marriage

In the early years of her marriage, Ava Helen Pauling worked as a part-time laboratory assistant at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

for her husband by taking notes, making models and completing other small tasks. Eventually, the couple had four children: Linus Carl Jr. (1925–2023); Peter Jeffress (1931–2003); Edward Crellin (1937–1997); and Linda Helen, (b. 1932). As the family grew, Ava Helen Pauling worked to create a home environment that would allow her husband to continue his scientific work without domestic distractions. Both Ava and her husband were atheists.

Activism

Japanese internment

After the

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese attack on

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

on December 7, 1941, the United States government proposed the

internment Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...

of all west coast Japanese and

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian Americans, Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 United States census, 2000 census, they have declined in ...

s in inland camps out of fear of

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...

. Ava Helen Pauling vigorously opposed this decision by joining the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...

(ACLU) and working to raise awareness about the government action. When asked by the ACLU, she and her husband provided employment for a Japanese-American man recently released from an American internment camp. Subsequently, the Pauling family was plied with criticism for what were seen as pro-Japanese actions. The Paulings, however, continued to support the rights of Japanese-Americans throughout

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Union Now

The Union Now movement arose from the publication of

Clarence Streit Clarence Kirschman Streit (; January 21, 1896 – July 6, 1986) was an American journalist who played a prominent role in the Atlanticist and world federalist movements.Imlay, Talbot (2020)Streit, Federalist Frameworks, and Wartime American Inte ...

's book '' Union Now'', which encouraged nations to combine into a democratic

federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

. Ava Helen Pauling advocated this movement and encouraged her husband to become educated on Streit's philosophy. As a result, Linus Pauling became publicly involved in the cause, eventually joining the

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

chapter of Federal Union, the organizational outgrowth of Union Now. In 1940, thanks in part to Ava Helen's suggestion, Linus Pauling gave his first political speech, urging his audience to consider Union Now as a movement toward a viable system of government. This effectively began Pauling's career as a public proponent of peace and human rights.

Women's rights

Ava Helen was deeply involved in the movement for women's rights. Following World War II, she became a member of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, or WILPF, Women Strike for Peace and Women Act for Disarmament, an international federation of women's groups in which she held the position of honorary chairwoman. She also worked to bring together fellow

activists Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

in support of women, helping to organize the "Women's Peace March" in Europe. In addition to her membership in various women's organizations, Ava Helen served as three time national vice-president for WILPF, one of the many women-led groups that supported the Paulings' peace efforts.

Nuclear disarmament and world peace

For much of her life, Ava Helen Pauling made world peace her primary political concern. During the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, she and her husband protested against nuclear armament and worked to increase public awareness of the danger of

nuclear war Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a War, military conflict or prepared Policy, political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are Weapon of mass destruction, weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conven ...

. Even after Linus Pauling came under fire from the

Senate Internal Security Subcommittee The United States Senate's Special Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws, 1951–77, known more commonly as the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee (SISS) and sometimes the M ...

, or SISS, the Paulings continued to campaign for global peace. Ava Helen Pauling traveled throughout the United States and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

giving speeches emphasizing the importance of peace. She was also instrumental in bringing together various groups in marches and rallies to protest U.S. military policy and

McCarthyism McCarthyism is a political practice defined by the political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a Fear mongering, campaign spreading fear of communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and of Soviet espionage i ...

. After collecting over 9,000 signatures from scientists worldwide, in 1958 the Paulings presented the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

with a petition demanding an end to atmospheric nuclear weapons testing. In 1963, President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

and

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

signed the Partial Test Ban Treaty. The signing of this treaty directly resulted in Linus Pauling's receipt of the 1962 Nobel Peace Prize, his second unshared Nobel Prize. In an interview which aired on the Nova TV series in 1977, Ava Helen Pauling explained:

Writing

In addition to her social activism, Ava Helen Pauling published a number of articles in various journals such as '' Soviet Woman'' and ''The Peacemaker''. In 2006, Oregon State University Press published a detailed bibliography listing Ava Helen Pauling's published works; in a five volume series titled ''The Pauling Catalogue'', Volume III contains "writings by Ava Helen Pauling on issues of peace, civil liberties and women's rights." In the 2013 biography ''Ava Helen Pauling: Partner, Activist, Visionary'', Mina Carson describes Ava Helen Pauling's writing style, stating that "Ava Helen's paper on women 'The Second X Chromosome,' used simple language to deliver a confident and impassioned assertion that it was time for all women to receive the equal standing and opportunities to which, in many places, their legal status already entitled them. Following her initial drafts through her final typed presentation for distribution, it is evident that she wrote easily when she was excited, in many cases framing the ultimate argument in her first handwritten draft."

Death

Ava Helen Pauling died on December 7, 1981, at age 77, after a long battle with

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a malignant tumor of the stomach. It is a cancer that develops in the Gastric mucosa, lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a numb ...

and subsequent internal hemorrhaging.

Legacy

In recognition of her efforts for peace and equality, Oregon State University's College of

Liberal Arts Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...

established the Ava Helen Pauling Lectureship on World Peace, now known as the Pauling Peace Lectureship, in 1982. The inaugural lecturer was Linus Pauling and subsequent lecturers have included Paul Warnke, Helen Caldicott,

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a ...

, and Arun Gandhi. Additionally, the Linus Pauling Institute chose to honor her with an endowed position, the Ava Helen Pauling Chair, in 1996.

Honors and awards

* Doctor of World Law, San Gabriel College, June 19, 1962. * Honorary Member: Federated Auxiliaries of the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's union, June 21, 1967. * Mother of the Year Award: California State Association of Colored Women's Clubs,

Emma Lazarus Emma Lazarus (July 22, 1849 – November 19, 1887) was an American author of poetry, prose, and translations, as well as an activist for Jewish and Georgism, Georgist causes. She is remembered for writing the sonnet "The New Colossus", which wa ...

, and Jewish Women's Clubs of Los Angeles, 1967. * Certificate of Appreciation: Anza-Borrego Committee of the Desert Protective Council, December 20, 1974. * Ralph Atkinson Award of the Monterey County Chapter of the ACLU. * Spectrum Award and Medal: World Organization for Human Potential, May 4, 1984. * Janice Holland Award of the

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

Chapter of the Women Strike for Peace.

Bibliography

Per the bibliography published in ''The Pauling Catalogue'' by Oregon State University Press.

Books

* ''The Pauling Catalogue, Volume 3: Ava Helen Pauling Papers'' (2006)

Articles

* "Oslo Conference Stresses Responsibility of Individuals". ''Four Lights''. 21 (3). (1961) * "Women Strike For Peace". ''Women of The Whole World''. (1962) * "A Great Event". ''Soviet Woman''. 10. (1963) *"Oxford Again--A Rebuttal". ''Fellowship''. 29 (17). (1963) -- co-authored with Linus Pauling. * "The Second X-Chromosome: A Study of Woman". ''Friendship Universal''. 2 (1). (1964) * "The Nobel Peace Prize". ''New World Review''. 32 (4). (1964) * "You Can Beat The Dutch". ''The Minority of One''. 6. (1964) * "Women In The World Today". ''The Peacemaker''. (1966)

References

External links

The Ava Helen and Linus Pauling Papers

* ttp://www.paulingcatalogue.org/ The Pauling Catalogue {{DEFAULTSORT:Pauling, Ava Helen 1903 births 1981 deaths American atheists Oregon State University alumni People from Corvallis, Oregon Deaths from stomach cancer in California People from Salem, Oregon Women's International League for Peace and Freedom people Pacifist feminists