William C Martin received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Richmond in 1951, and master’s and Ph.D. degrees from Princeton in 1953 and 1956, respectively. He spent his entire professional career at the National Bureau of Standards (today, NIST). In 1962 he was appointed Chief of the Atomic Spectroscopy Section, served as Director of the Atomic Spectroscopy Data Center since 1968, and served as Scientist Emeritus after his retirement.

In recognition of his work he was awarded the U. S. Department of Commerce Silver Medal (1968) and Gold Medal (1981). In 1992 he was awarded the NIST Allen V. Astin Measurement Science Award and in 1997 the Office of Measurement Services Award. In 1983 he was recognized with the William F. Meggers Award of OSA. He was a Fellow of APS, OSA, and AAAS. He served as Associate Editor and Technical Editor of the Journal of the Optical Society of America.

Martin passed away in 2013.