In Memoriam: Marian Cleeves Diamond, 1926-2017

Marian Cleeves Diamond, professor of emerita of integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley, died on July 25 at her home in Oakland. She was 90 years old.

Professor Diamond was one of the nation’s early neuroscientists and was able to show that the environment can impact the anatomy of the brain, even in older adults. She later examined the brain cells of Albert Einstein and found evidence to support her theories.

Dr. Diamond was the co-author of Magic Trees of the Mind: How to Nurture your Child’s Intelligence, Creativity, and Healthy Emotions from Birth through Adolescence (Plume, 1998).

Professor Diamond earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of California, Berkeley and then studies at the University of Oslo in Norway. She returned to Berkeley and was the first women to enroll in the Ph.D. program in anatomy at the university.

Dr. Diamond joined the faculty at Berkeley in 1965 and continued to teach until her retirement in 2014 at the age of 87.