Melvin Ellis Calvin was an American biochemist known for discovering the Calvin cycle along with Andrew Benson and James Bassham, for which he was awarded the 1961 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
18 Facts About Melvin Calvin
2.
Melvin Calvin spent most of his five-decade career at the University of California, Berkeley.
3.
Melvin Calvin was born in St Paul, Minnesota, the son of Elias Calvin and Rose Herwitz, Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire.
4.
At an early age, Melvin Calvin's family moved to Detroit, MI where his parents ran a grocery store to earn their living.
5.
Melvin Calvin was often found exploring his curiosity by looking through all of the products that made up their shelves.
6.
Melvin Calvin was invited to join the lab of Michael Polanyi as a Post Doctoral student at the University of Manchester.
7.
Melvin Calvin invited Calvin to push forward in radioactive carbon research because "now was the time".
8.
In 1963, Melvin Calvin was given the additional title of Professor of Molecular Biology.
9.
Melvin Calvin spent many years testing the chemical evolution of life and wrote a book on the subject that was published in 1969.
10.
The community Melvin Calvin created within the roundhouse was one that students and staff members felt they could truly reach their potential in.
11.
Melvin Calvin became known for his management skills which many creative scientific outlets are modeled after today.
12.
Melvin Calvin was known as Mr Photosynthesis but that does not even begin to describe how his organizational and management skills revolutionized the scientific community across all fronts.
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Melvin Calvin began to establish the lab by recruiting strong chemists in labs across the country.
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Melvin Calvin then recruited Andrew Benson, who had worked with Ruben and Kamen previously on photosynthesis and C-14, to head that aspect of the lab.
15.
Melvin Calvin served as president of the American Chemical Society, the American Society of Plant Physiology, and the Pacific Division of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
16.
Melvin Calvin served as a member of the President's Science Advisory Committee from 1963 to 1966 and served on the top advisory body of the Department of Energy, the Energy Research Advisory Board.
17.
Benson himself has mentioned being fired by Melvin Calvin, and has complained about not being mentioned in his autobiography.
18.
Melvin Calvin was featured on the 2011 volume of the American Scientists collection of US postage stamps, along with Asa Gray, Maria Goeppert-Mayer, and Severo Ochoa.