Arthur Ashkin wuxuu ku dhashay Brooklyn, New York, sanadkii 1922, qoys asal ahaan ka soo jeeda Yukreeniyaan-Yuhuudda. Waalidiintiisa waxay ahaayeen Isadore iyo Anna Ashkin. Wuxuu lahaa laba walaalo ah, walaal, Julius, oo sidoo kale ah fiisikiste, iyo walaasheed, Ruth. Hal walaal oo ka weyn, Gertrude, ayaa geeriyooday isagoo yar. Gurigii qoyska wuxuu ku yaalay Brooklyn, New York, 983 E 27 Street. Isadore (né Ashkinazi) wuxuu u haajiray Mareykanka oo ka yimid Odessa (markaa Boqortooyadii Ruushka, hadda Ukraine), isagoo jira 18 sano. Anna, oo shan sano ka yar, waxay sidoo kale ka timid Ukraine maanta, ka dibna Galicia, Boqortooyadii Austro-Hungarian. Toban sano gudahood markii uu soo degay New York, Isadore wuxuu noqday muwaadin Mareykan ah wuxuuna maamulayay shaybaar dhakhtarka ilkaha ee 139 Dely Street ee Manhattan. Ashkin wuxuu la kulmay xaaskiisa, Aline Cornell, oo sidoo kale ah borofisar cilmiga sayniska ah, iyo walaasheed, Gertrude,
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