Francis Birch was an American geophysicist. He is considered one of the founders of solid Earth geophysics. He is also known for his part in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He was born on August 22, 1903 in Washington, D.C., United States. A graduate of Harvard University, Birch began working on geophysics as a research assistant. He subsequently spent his entire career at Harvard working in the field, becoming an Associate Professor of Geology in 1943, a professor in 1946, and Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology in 1949, and professor emeritus in 1974. He received the Geological Society of America's Arthur L. Day Medal and Penrose Medal in 1950 and 1969, respectively, and served as president of the society in 1963-64. The American Geophysical Union honored him with its highest award, the William Bowie Medal, in 1960. President Lyndon Johnson presented him with the National Medal of Science in 1967.