Barry Commoner

Born on May 28, 1917

Barry Commoner joined the faculty of Washington University in St. Louis in 1947. In 34 years there he explored viral function and led cellular research with implications for cancer diagnosis. Alarmed in the early 1950s by the health risks posed by atomic testing, Commoner helped found the St. Louis Committee for Nuclear Information. In 1966 he established the Center for the Biology of Natural Systems to study man’s relationship with the environment. The author of nine books and the 1980 Citizens’ Party presidential candidate, Barry Commoner, a pioneer in the creation of the environmental movement, was termed the “Paul Revere of Ecology.”