Otto Hahn was born in Frankfort am Main on March 8,1879, and received his education from Universities of Marburg and Munich. As a radiochemist, he discovered radiothorium while extracting radium from a sample of barium salt.

In 1911, he became a member of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute. He eventually served as its director from 1928-1945. In 1938, in collaboration with Fritz Strassmann, Hahn discovered that barium could be produced by bombarding uranium with neutrons.