When he was in high school, he used discarded equipment and supplies found in an abandoned steel plant to conduct experiments. He and a friend set up a laboratory to sample butterfat content in milk. They tried to sell their services to local dairies, but the town businessmen did not take them seriously and did not give them business.

By age 15, he had finished all his high school courses except for two history classes. The school's headmaster would not let him skip taking these classes, so he quit high school and applied to college anyway. He was accepted at Oregon State University, where he started a year later.

While he was in college, he did research in molecular biology, chemistry and quantum mechanics. He also took jobs outside of school to support himself. After graduating with a degree in chemical engineering, he continued his research. The work he did helped lay the foundations for modern DNA science.

By the age of 30, he had already published fifty original papers and was a full professor at the California Institute of Technology. He was regarded by his students as an excellent teacher, and was admired for his brilliance and great sense of humor. He got married and had four children, three of whom ultimately became scientists themselves. Forty-five years after he left, his old high school relented and awarded him a high school diploma.

During the Cold War he spoke out against nuclear weapons in favor of disarmament. He felt that scientific knowledge had to be used responsibly.

He was the only American ever to win a Nobel Prize in two different fields -- one for Chemistry in 1954, and one for Peace in 1962. He once quipped that "The way to get good ideas is to get lots of ideas, and throw the bad ones away." He also said

"Facts are the air of scientists. Without them you can never fly."

One of the world's greatest scientists, he lived a long and productive life until age 97. He is now known as the "Father of Molecular Biology". He was