MOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY: A PERSONAL HISTORY.

Abstract

The author started scientific work in the period between 1926 and 1928, which coincided closely with the high point in the development of the subject of molecular spectroscopy. This fortunate accident made it possible for him to learn the subject while it was being developed. It also gave him the opportunity to meet most of the principal actors in the dramatic development of this field and to get a very personal feeling for their aims and ambitions. In discussing this personal history there will be many occasions of describing the forerunners and contributors to the field, and thus the author hopes that this article will be useful for the historian of science.