Herbert Leopold Strauss, who went by "Herb", was born on March 26, 1936, in Aachen, Germany to parents Joan and Charles Strauss. He had a younger brother, Walter. The Strauss family escaped Germany in 1939, arriving in England. While in London, Herbert Strauss was temporarily placed in an orphanage, where he became seriously ill from bronchitis and nearly died. The family eventually immigrated to Kew Gardens, Queens in New York City. There, his father worked as a real estate agent and his mother worked in a clothing store. Strauss received both a bachelor's degree (1957) and a PhD (1960) in chemistry from Columbia University.