Richard Tsien was born in Tating, Kweichow, China. He is the eldest of three brothers. Tsien's youngest brother Roger Y. Tsien, a cell biologist, won the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He is a descendant of the King Wuyue Tsien Liu. He is the son of Hsue-Chu Tsien, a famous aeronautical mechanic who became the chief engineer for Boeing.
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