Charles Townes (born 1915) was a physicist whose work concentrated on the development of high-resolution spectroscopy of gasses in the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum. He shared the Nobel Prize in physics in 1964 for his work leading to the development of the maser and his research and ideas were instrumental in the development of the laser by Theodore Maiman. Townes was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1956.

Charles Hard Townes was born on July 28, 1915, in Greenville, South Carolina. As a youth he was interested in the biological and natural sciences. He was a gifted scholar who skipped the seventh grade. Townes entered Furman University in his hometown at age 16 and became interested in physics. He received two degrees from Furman--a Bachelor of Arts in modern languages and a Bachelor of Science in physics. He then went to Duke University, from which he received a Master's degree...