William A. Fowler was noted for his theories dealing with how stars produce heat and light based on his explanations of the synthesis of chemical elements in the universe. Fowler received the 1983 Nobel Prize in physics in recognition of "his theoretical and experimental studies of the nuclear reactions of important atoms in the formation of the chemical elements in the universe." His contributions have been of benefit to the fields of astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, and geophysics in addition to nuclear physics.

Fowler was born on August 9, 1911, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to John MacLeod, an accountant, and Jennie Summers (Watson) Fowler. The Fowlers had two other children, Arthur Watson, born in 1913, and Nelda, born in 1919. When William was two years old, his family moved to Lima, Ohio, where he attended Horace Mann Grade School and Central High School. At Central, Fowler was president of the senior class, a varsity football...