Fritz Strassmann's experiments with the bombardment of neutrons on uranium atoms resulted in the discovery of nuclear fission, which has been employed in making the world's first atomic bomb and nuclear energy. He also developed a widely-used geological dating method employing radiation techniques, and served as a well-respected teacher of nuclear chemistry.

Friedrich Wilhelm Strassmann, the youngest of nine children, was born on February 22, 1902, in Boppard, Germany, to Richard Strassmann, a court clerk, and Julie Bernsmann. Strassmann attended primary schools in Cologne and Düsseldorf and secondary school at the Düsseldorf Oberrealschule. During this time, he became interested in chemistry. However, the death of his father in 1920 and the desperate economic conditions of post-World War I Germany made it impossible to enroll at a university. Instead, he entered the Technical Institute at Hanover, where he supported himself as a private tutor.

In 1924 Strassmann was awarded...