Dear Joshua,
Alas, I have not followed the illustrious route tread by so many waters, scientists, generals, politicians, etc.  I do not keep, I have never kept a diary.  Sometimes I regret it.  Of course I remember the 1946 Cold Spring Harbor Symposium (it was my first visit to the States).  In fact the only important scientific event, the most spectacular, was the announcement of the sexuality of Escherichia coli.  The transmission of caracters from bacteria to bacteria were of course well known: the "transforming principle".  But that bacteria when able to copulate had, to my mind, never been foreseen.
Somebody--may be I--sensed the objection that symbiosis between two deficient bacteria could explain your data.  But you [...] eliminated this hypothesis.
Anyhow, the fact, bacterial sexuality, was, in itself interesting for those in love with bacteria, but I wonder if anyone, except you perhaps, had realized that the discovery
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of bacterial copulation would allow the birth and blooming of molecular biology and genetics during the next ten years.  An explosive, unpredictable blooming.
This is all I can say.
With kind regards
Andre Lwoff
P.S. You may use this letter as you wish but, please correct the mistakes concerning my english.
P.S.  Your letter dated june 84 was received january 2d 1985.  Hence the late answer.