Carbon-14 (discovery)

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Who

Martin Kamen, American Jewish chemist, with Sam Ruben.

When

1940

Where

Berkeley, California, USA

In 1940 Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discovered carbon-14, the long-lived radioactive isotope of carbon, at the University of California, Berkeley. Carbon-14 became the basis of radiocarbon dating and a key tracer in biology and medicine. Kamen was an American Jewish chemist, whose immigrant family had Russian-Jewish roots.

Sources

Part of “The Gifts of the Jews” — verified Jewish contributions to the world, with sources.