R. Bruce Merrifield was born July 15, 1921, in Fort Worth, Texas, the only son of George E. and Lorene Lucas Merrifield. In high school, Merrifield became interested in science, especially chemistry and astronomy. When he graduated from high school in 1939, Merrifield entered Pasadena Junior College, and transferred at the end of two years to the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), where he worked in the laboratory of Max S. Dunn.

After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in chemistry from UCLA in 1943, Merrifield went to work at the Philip R. Park Research Foundation as a chemist. The experience convinced Merrifield that to pursue his goals he would need to return to school. He returned to UCLA for graduate school, and served as a chemistry instructor from 1944 until 1947. He then returned to Professor Dunn's laboratory as a research assistant from 1948 through 1949. In 1949, he received his...