Journalist and photographer Sherwin "Scoop" Garside was born in Tonopah, Nevada in 1915. He was the son of Frank Garside owner of many newspapers, including the Las Vegas Review which became the Las Vegas Review-Journal in 1929. Sherwin Garside moved to Las Vegas, Nevada when his father purchased the Las Vegas Review in 1926. Garside graduated from Las Vegas High School where he earned the nickname "Scoop" writing for the school newspaper, The Desert Breeze.
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.