I’d known for many years about the audiotape in Dr. Davies’s papers but when I opened that box again a couple weeks ago I realized that we now could easily digitize it. I’m deeply grateful to my colleague Norie Guthrie for taking the time to do this for me. I’ve written about him many times (here, here, and here just for example) with no expectation that I would ever hear him speak.

This is a lecture, or at least most of one, given on April 22nd, 1963, and recorded by a student in Biology 100. Oddly enough it’s labeled “Hamlet” and if you listen to the whole thing you can almost see why. Maybe the piece at the end that’s cut off had the answer.

It’s about a half hour long, although you can get a feel for it in just a few minutes. It’s all a bit unexpected–he had a remarkable accent and a speaking style that must have been outdated even then. But you can feel his spark, his curiosity, his pleasure in his topic, and you can sense why students loved him.

Bonus: Floor signage at the Circulation Desk. Of course there’s no one in the library yet but they’ll be back soon and I’ll be six feet away from them.