Glenn Theodore Seaborg was born in Ishpeming,
Michigan, on April 19, 1912. At the age of 10 he moved with his
family to California, in 1929 he graduated at David Starr Jordan
High School in Los Angeles as valedictorian of his class.
He entered the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1929, and
received the degree of Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of
California, Berkeley, in 1937. From 1937 to 1939 he was the
personal laboratory assistant of the late G. N. Lewis, with whom
he published a number of scientific papers. In 1939, Dr. Seaborg
was appointed an instructor in chemistry at the University of
California, Berkeley, where he was promoted to Assistant
Professor in 1941, and to Professor of Chemistry in 1945. In
1946, he also took responsibility for direction of nuclear
chemical research at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, operated
for the Atomic Energy Commission by the University of California;
from 1954 to 1961, he was Associate Director of LRL. In the same
year, he was appointed by President Truman to be a member of the
AEC's first General Advisory Committee, a post he held until
1950. In 1958, he was appointed Chancellor of the University of
California at Berkeley. In that capacity he served until his
appointment by President Kennedy to the Atomic Energy Commission
in 1961, when he was designated Chairman of the Commission. His
term of office expires in 1968. From 1959 to 1961, he was also a
member of the President's Science Advisory Committee. Dr. Seaborg
was given a leave of absence from the University of California
from 1942-1946, during which period he headed the plutonium work
of the Manhattan Project at the University of Chicago
Metallurgical Laboratory. He was co-discoverer of plutonium and
all further transuranium elements through element 102.
In addition to the discovery of transuranium elements, Dr.
Seaborg and his colleagues are responsible for the identification
of more than 100 isotopes of elements throughout the Periodic
Table. He is also author of the actinide concept of heavy element
electronic structure. In this connection, Dr. Seaborg
demonstrated that the heavy elements form a "transition" series
of actinide elements in a manner analogous to the rare-earth
series of lanthanide elements. The concept demonstrated how the
heavy elements fit into the Periodic Table and thus demonstrated
their relationships to the other elements.
The body of information assembled in Dr. Seaborg's laboratory has
made it possible to predict the radioactive characteristics of
many isotopes of elements still to be found. Under Dr. Seaborg's
leadership, also, whole new bodies of methodology and
instrumentation have been developed and have become a cornerstone
of modern nuclear chemistry. Dr. Seaborg is the author of
approximately 200 scientific papers, including a number of
comprehensive reviews and compilations in scientific
publications. He is also author and co-author of several books on
chemistry and the elements.
Honours include: in 1947 named as one of America's 10 outstanding
young men by the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce; 1947 recipient
of the American Chemical Society's Award in Pure Chemistry; 1948
John Ericsson Gold Medal by the American Society of Swedish
Engineers; 1948 Nichols Medal of the New York Section of the
American Chemical Society; 1953 John Scott Award and Medal of the
City of Philadelphia; 1957 Perkin Medal of the American Section
of the Society of Chemical Industry; 1959 Atomic Energy
Commission's Enrico Fermi Award for his outstanding work in the
field of nuclear chemistry and for his leadership in scientific
and educational affairs; in 1962, named Swedish American of the
Year by Vasa Order of America, Stockholm; 1963 Franklin Medal of
the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia.
Dr. Seaborg is an Honorary Fellow of the Chemical Society of
London and of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He is a Fellow of
the American Institute of Chemists, the New York Academy of
Sciences, the California Academy of Sciences, the American
Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement
of Science. He is a Member of the National Academy of Sciences,
the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Society of
Arts of England, and the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering
Sciences.
Honorary degrees awarded to Dr. Seaborg include Doctor of Science
degrees from the University of Denver, 1951; Gustavus Adolphus
College, 1954; Northwestern University, 1954; University of Notre
Dame, 1961; Ohio State University, 1961; Florida State
University, 1961; University of Maryland, 1961; Temple University,
1962; Tulane University, 1962; Drexel Institute of Technology,
1962; Georgetown University, 1962; University of the State
of New York, 1962; Mundelein College, 1963; and Trinity College,
1963; the degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of
Michigan, 1958; and University of Massachusetts, 1963; the degree
of Doctor of Humane Letters from Northern Michigan College, 1962;
the degree of Doctor of Public Service from George Washington
University, 1962; and the degree of Doctor of Public
Administration from the University of Puget Sound, 1963.
In 1942, Dr. Seaborg married Helen L. Griggs, then secretary to
the late Dr. Ernest O. Lawrence (Nobel Laureate for Physics
1939). They have six children: Peter (b. 1946), Lynne (b. 1947),
David (b. 1949), Stephen (b. 1951), John Eric (b. 1954), and
Dianne (b. 1959). His chief hobby is golf, but he also follows
other sports with interest. From 1953-1958 he served as the
University of California (Berkeley) Faculty Athletic
Representative.
From Nobel Lectures, Chemistry 1942-1962, Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1964
This autobiography/biography was written at the time of the award and first published in the book series Les Prix Nobel. It was later edited and republished in Nobel Lectures. To cite this document, always state the source as shown above.
Glenn T. Seaborg died on February 25, 1999.
Copyright © The Nobel Foundation 1951
Glenn T. Seaborg
