Often referred to as the founding father of developmental neurobiology, Viktor Hamburger is known for his work on the development of the nervous system in chick embryos and for defining and classifying the different stages in embryological development. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1953 for developing techniques of microneurosurgery; he was also honored for research which led to the discovery that developing nerve cells are dependent on the limbs to which they are connected. In 1989 he was awarded the National Medal of Science, and he is now the Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Biology at Washington University in St. Louis.

The first of three sons, Hamburger was born to Max and Else Hamburger in the small town of Landeshut, Silesia, which was then an eastern province of Germany, but is now part of Poland. As a child, Hamburger was fascinated by the...