Melvin Calvin

@University Of Minnesota, Birthday and Family ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Melvin Ellis Calvin was a Jewish-American biochemist who was awarded the ‘Nobel Prize’ in Chemistry in 1961 Minnesota American University Of Minnesota Scientists Biochemists Aries Celebrities Melvin Ellis Calvin was a Jewish-American biochemist who was awarded the ‘Nobel Prize’ in Chemistry in 1961 for his renowned discovery of the ‘Calvin cycle’ that encompass three phases of light-independent reactions of photosynthesis - carbon fixation, reduction reactions, and ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP) regeneration. This discovery was made by Calvin along with American biologist Andrew Benson and American scientist James Bassham. In his career span of around five decades, most of which was spent at the ‘University of California’, Berkeley, he made several studies that yielded significant discoveries covering a broad area of biological and physical chemistry. The series of investigations made by Calvin included work on hydrogen activation; radiation chemistry; electronic structure of organic molecules; artificial photosynthesis; photoelectronic, electronic and photochemical behaviour of porphyrins; and chemical evolution of life among others. He worked on isolating and purifying plutonium from other irradiated nuclear fission products of uranium by applying chelation and solvent extraction while working in the ‘Manhattan Project’. He and his wife Genevieve Jemtegaard collaborated to study chemical factors present in Rh blood group system and helped to ascertain structure of one of the Rh antigens that they named ‘elinin’. He received several awards and recognition including ‘Davy Medal’ from the ‘Royal Society of London’ (1964), ‘Priestley Medal’ (1978) and the U.S. ‘National Medal of Science’ (1989).

Personal Details

Birthday: April 8, 1911 Died on: January 8, 1997 Nationality: American Famous: University Of Minnesota, Scientists, Biochemists City/State: Minnesota Spouses: Marie Genevieve Jemtegaard Known as: Melvin Ellis Calvin Information Detail Birthday April 8, 1911 Died on January 8, 1997 Nationality American Famous University Of Minnesota, Scientists, Biochemists City/State Minnesota Spouses Marie Genevieve Jemtegaard Known as Melvin Ellis Calvin Childrens Elin, Karole, Noel Universities University Of Minnesota Michigan College of Mining and Technology University of Minnesota Notable Alumnis University Of Minnesota Birth Place St. Paul, Minnesota, USA Gender Male Father Elias Calvin Mother Rose Herwitz Sun Sign Aries Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA Famous as Biochemist Died at Age 85

St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

Melvin Calvin born at Unsplash Birth Place

In 1942 he married Marie Genevieve Jemtegaard and the couple was blessed with two daughters, Karole and Elin and a son, Noel. Unsplash Personal Life

On January 8, 1997, he passed away in Berkeley, California, USA at the age of 86. Unsplash Personal Life

He was born on April 8, 1911, in St. Paul, Minnesota, to Jewish immigrants Elias Calvin and Rose Herwitz, who originally hailed from the Russian Empire. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

His family relocated to Detroit, Michigan when he was very small. In 1928 he completed his graduation from ‘Central High School’, Detroit. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

After receiving a full scholarship from ‘Michigan College of Mining and Technology’ (at present ‘Michigan Technological University’) in Houghton, he joined the college and studied geology, mineralogy, civil engineering and paleontology. All these subjects proved to be extremely beneficial for his future scientific endeavours. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

His studies got interrupted for a year during the Great Depression that saw him working in a brass factory as an analyst. He finally earned his B.Sc. degree from ‘Michigan College of Mining and Technology’ in 1931. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

In 1935 he obtained Ph.D in chemistry from the ‘University of Minnesota’ submitting his thesis on electron affinity of halogen atoms. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

In 1937 he was inducted as an instructor at the ‘University of California’, Berkeley. His career path in the university saw a gradual rise first advancing as a Full Professor in 1947 and then as a Professor of Molecular Biology in 1963, a post he retained till his retirement in 1980. Unsplash Career

He carried on with his research on activation of molecular hydrogen at Berkeley that he started at Manchester and started studying colour of organic compounds that led him to investigate the electronic structures of organic molecules. Unsplash Career

While investigating molecular genetics during the early 1940s, he suggested involvement of hydrogen bonding in the piling of nucleic acid bases in the thread like structures called chromosomes, present in the nucleus of living organisms. Unsplash Career

With the entry of the US in the ‘Second World War’, Calvin worked for the ‘National Defense Research Council’. During the war he researched on cobalt complexes which generate an oxygen producing device for destroyers or submarines by reverse bonding with oxygen. Unsplash Career

His development of the procedure to procure oxygen from atmospheres proved to be extremely significant for application on patients suffering from breathing problems. Unsplash Career

In 1961 he received the ‘Nobel Prize’ in Chemistry. Unsplash Awards & Achievements

Information	Detail
Birthday	April 8, 1911
Died on	January 8, 1997
Nationality	American
Famous	University Of Minnesota, Scientists, Biochemists
City/State	Minnesota
Spouses	Marie Genevieve Jemtegaard
Known as	Melvin Ellis Calvin
Childrens	Elin, Karole, Noel
Universities	University Of Minnesota Michigan College of Mining and Technology University of Minnesota
Notable Alumnis	University Of Minnesota
Birth Place	St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
Gender	Male
Father	Elias Calvin
Mother	Rose Herwitz
Sun Sign	Aries
Born in	St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
Famous as	Biochemist
Died at Age	85

Melvin Calvin

American

Apr 8, 1911

Biography

Personal Details

St. Paul, Minnesota, USA