Willard Libby

Willard Frank Libby (1908-1980) was an American chemist, famous for his role in the development of radiocarbon dating, a process which revolutionised archaeology.

Libby was born in Grand Valley, Colorado, and educated at the University of Berkeley, California, where he later became a lecturer. During World War II, he was involved in atomic research, and in 1945 he became a professor at the University of Chicago. In 1954, he was appointed to the US Atomic Energy Commission. In 1959, he became Professor of Chemistry at California University, a position he held until his retirement in 1976.

In 1960, Libby was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for leading the team that developed Carbon-14 dating.