Richard Lawrence Garwin was boen on April 19, 1928, in Cleveland, Ohio. Richard married Lois E. Garwin on April 20, 1947 and they had three children: Jeffery, Thomas, and Laura.

In 1947, Garwin obtained a bachelor of science degree in physics from Case Western Reserve University. Garwin then obtained his masters of science degree in physics (1948) and a doctor of philosophy in physics (1949) from the University of Chicago.