Happy Birthday to Charles F. Richter, born on April 26, 1900. Raised by a single mother, he struggled in school & at the start of grad school had what used to be called a nervous breakdown...

He recovered & earned his PhD from Caltech. His thesis, under Millikan & Paul Epstein, was on the spin of the hydrogen atom. He looked forward to a career in modern physics.

When offered a job at the Pasadena Seismological Laboratory, he accepted, intending it to be temporary, until a more suitable position came along.

In 1935 he introduced the first-ever scale to size up earthquakes, a formulation that provides the basis for every modern magnitude scale.

And thanks to fellow seismologist Perry Byerly, who told reporters to call it the Richter Scale, CFR became one of the most famous scientists of all time.

At least as late as the late 1940s, he lamented not having made a more “fundamental” contribution to science.