Melvin Calvin

Melvin Ellis Calvin (1911–1997) was an American chemist, biochemist, and university teacher. Born in Saint Paul, he died in Berkeley of heart failure. His academic career included positions at the University of Minnesota and the University of California, Berkeley. Calvin studied at the University of Minnesota, the University of Manchester, and Michigan Technological University, where his doctoral advisor was Michael Polanyi. He specialized in biochemistry and organic chemistry.

Calvin was a member of the Royal Society, the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. He received the Guggenheim Fellowship, the Centenary Prize, the Remsen Award, and the William H. Nichols Medal. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. His doctoral students included Cyril Ponnamperuma and Jan Anderson.