Martin D. Kamen was responsible, with Samuel Ruben, for the discovery of carbon 14. His discovery of the long-lived radioactive isotope made possible much further research on photosynthesis, so this was of particular importance to biologists. Carbon 14 was also subsequently found to be extremely useful in dating fossils, so Kamen's work had broad implications for scientists in varied fields such as geology, paleontology, and archaeology.

Kamen was born August 27, 1913, the first-born son of Russian Jewish immigrant parents. The Kamens ran a photographic portrait studio in the Hyde Park area of Chicago. Kamen was a child prodigy on the violin, and through his high school years it was assumed that he would have a career in music. But balking at family pressure to perform, Kamen stopped studying music seriously, and entered the University of Chicago in 1930 intending to major in English. However, his family's fortune had slid considerably in the...