Ava Helen Pauling (born Miller; December 24, 1903 – December 7, 1981) was an American human rights activist. Throughout her life, she was involved in various social movements including women's rights, racial equality, and international peace.
An avid New Dealer, Ava Helen Pauling was heavily interested in American politics and social reforms. She is credited with introducing her husband, Linus Pauling, to the field of peace studies, for which he received the 1962 Nobel Peace Prize. Most prominent among the various causes she supported was the issue of ending nuclear proliferation. Ava Helen Pauling worked with her husband, advocating a stop to the production and use of nuclear arms. Their campaigning helped lead to the Limited Test Ban Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union, effectively ending the above-ground testing of nuclear weapons.
Biography
Early life
Ava Helen Miller, the tenth of twelve children, was raised on a farm outside Beavercreek, Oregon. Her father, George Miller, a school teacher, and her mother, Elnora Gard Miller, expressed socialist ideals and encouraged liberal thinking and discussion in the home. 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, 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.
Higher education
It was at Oregon State University in 1922 that Ava Helen Miller first met Linus Pauling. As an undergraduate, he taught a chemistry course to home economics majors. Ava Helen Pauling was enrolled in this course and it was through the student-teacher relationship that they became romantically involved. After a brief courtship, 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 for her husband by taking notes, making models and completing other small tasks. Eventually, the couple had four children: Linus Carl Jr. (1925-2003); 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 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States government proposed the internment of all west coast Japanese and Japanese Americans in inland camps out of fear of espionage. Ava Helen Pauling vigorously opposed this decision by joining the American Civil Liberties Union (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.
Union Now
The Union Now movement arose from the publication of Clarence Streit's novel Union Now, which encouraged nations to combine into a democratic federation. 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 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.