Harry Gold (Heinrich Golodnitsky) was born in Switzerland in 1910 to Russian-born parents. The family immigrated to the United States in 1914. From 1930-1932, Gold attended the University of Pennsylvania. He also studied at Drexel University and Columbia University and worked at the Pennsylvania Sugar Company. Gold attended Xavier University (Cincinnati, Ohio) from 1938-1940, during which time he was a member of the Chess Club. He graduated summa cum laude in 1940 with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry. He then worked as a research chemist in Philadelphia. Gold was arrested for receiving atomic bomb secrets from Dr. Klaus Fuchs for passage to Russia after Fuchs had been caught in 1950. He pled guilty to having spied for Russia from 1934 or 1935, sources vary on the date, to 1950 and in his confession gave up a number of other people including David Greenglass and his wife, as well as Greenglass’s sister Ethel Rosenberg and her husband Julius Rosenberg. He testified against the Rosenberg’s during their trial. Gold was convicted in 1951 and sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. After serving 18 years, he was released on parole in 1966. He returned to Philadelphia and worked as a clinical chemist for a hospital pathologist. He died in 1972.

Several books and articles have been published about Harry Gold including Sam Kean's article "Harry Gold: Spy in the Lab" (April 25, 2019) published by the Science History Institute Museum and Library at https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/harry-gold-spy-in-the-lab/.