UPDATE / BY JAMES STACK
NO NEWS ON SPERM BANK RESULT
Author: By James Stack
Date: Sunday, October 26, 1980
Page: ?????
Section: RUN OF PAPER
In one of the most fascinating stories of the year, Dr. William Shockley,
the creative but controversial scientist who developed the transistor, made
known last March the existence of a sperm bank with a contributor list
restricted to Nobel prize winners such as himself.
Shockley announced, in fact, that he had already made a contribution to
the sperm bank, the idea behind which is to attempt the controlled production
of geniuses, or near geniuses, to balance and protect the world from those of
us who are intellectually less gifted.
He suggested this might be achieved by carefully selecting for artificial
impregnation women desirous of giving birth to bright children, but prevented
from doing so because their husbands are sterile and/or stupid.
Shockley refused to identify any of the other Nobel prize winners involved
in this endeavor, which was organized and bankrolled by Robert K. Graham, 74,
a California multi-millionaire who got his start in optometry.
The Shockley announcement triggered a stampede of newsmen to Graham's l0-
acre farm in Escondido, Calif. Graham told them that he was not attempting to
create a master race, but merely sought to "increase the number of offspring
of our most creative scientists."
As long ago as April, a Graham spokesman said four Nobelists besides
Shockley had made donations to the sperm bank. There was a separate but
reliable report that at least seven women had been artificially inseminated.
It seemed that six months was a reasonable enough time to expect that one
of the chosen ones would become pregnant, but it seems we must wait a while.
Michael Grady, a professional press agent who handles such matters for
Graham, would neither confirm, deny nor even discuss what, if anything, had
come of the Nobel experiment.
"Since meeting with the press in April, he (Graham) has had nothing to say
and will have nothing to say now," said Grady.
STACK ;10/24,06:59 MFEENE;10/27,13 B07979570
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