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Inventor, chemist and philanthropist Arnold O. Beckman died Tuesday. He was 104.

• Invented or improved: A pH meter that measured acidity and alkalinity, aiding development of soaps, paints and foods; the DU spectrophotometer, a tool that advanced the study of penicillin; oxygen analyzers for submarines, airplanes and infant incubators.

ARNOLD O. BECKMAN'S SEVEN RULES FOR LIVING 1. Absolute integrity in everything. 2. There is no satisfactory substitute for excellence. 3. Moderation in everything, including moderation. 4. Hire the best people, then get out of their way. 5. Don't be afraid of making mistakes; if you're not making mistakes, you're probably not doing very much. 6. Acquire new knowledge and always ask 'why.' 7. Don't take yourself too seriously.

"Arnold O. Beckman of Corona del Mar, the genteel son of a blacksmith who gave away $400 million of the fortune he made inventing and making instruments that revolutionized science and medicine, has died at 104. Beckman died at 5:15 a.m. Tuesday at Scripps Hospital in La Jolla, where he lived for the past 15 months, said his daughter, Pat Beckman. His death culminates the life of one of the 20th century's most influential inventors and philanthropists - a man whose favorite word was "why" and who spent countless hours sitting behind a desk bearing a plaque that said, in big but unimposing letters, "THINK." Beckman and the company he formed created laboratory instruments and analytical tools that were so fast, precise and easy to use they led to everything from enriched foods for soldiers during World War II to oxygen analyzers that greatly decreased blindness among babies placed in incubators. The pensive chemist - a "meat and potatoes" guy from the Midwest - also helped advance military and civilian radar, explain the structure of penicillin, and hasten the search for molecules that might be used in drugs to better fight AIDS and many types of cancer. IN HIS OWN WORDS "I gave Einstein a ride once. Seemed like a nice person." "Unfortunately, scientific discovery, once the pride of our nation, is now relegated to the back pages of the dailies. How do we rekindle the flames of discovery?" (His answer: philanthropy.) "Today's children need fewer electronic games and more eclectic imagination. In other words, less Nintendo and more Newton." Much of the work was done at Beckman Instruments in Fullerton, one of Orange County's first high-technology companies and the firm that brought him such great wealth he almost seemed embarrassed by it. "I want to give all of my money away before I die," Beckman told The Orange County Register in 1985, more than six decades after he helped pay his way through college by playing piano at silent-movie houses. "He was one of the last great Renaissance men born in the 20th century," said biologist Michael Berns, co-founder of the Beckman Laser Institute at the University of California, Irvine. "Dr. Beckman was a gentleman of great intellect and integrity with far-reaching interests that he pursued with a sense of humor. He was always telling people, 'Don't take life too seriously.' " Beckman's humor was soft and subtle. A few days before he turned 100, he was asked by a reporter what he thought about most in the twilight of life. "What time do we eat?" Beckman quipped with a wink. Arnold Orville Beckman was born April 10, 1900, in Cullom, Ill., a farming community southwest of Chicago where life was simple and isolated. Movie theaters had yet to debut. Television was decades away. Cullom had more horses than cars, which provided work for his father, George, one of four blacksmiths in town. George Beckman taught the craft to his son, who helped his father attach metal strips to wagon wheels and extended his expertise beyond horses. By 9, Arnold Beckman was building his own toys. "In Cullom, we were forced to improvise. I think it was a very good thing," he told a biographer. When he was 10, Beckman went rummaging through an attic and found a dog-eared copy of "Fourteen Weeks in Chemistry," a textbook filled with practical experiments. He soon converted an old shed into a laboratory where he performed crude experiments that fused the worlds of chemistry and electricity - something that would later help him develop sophisticated instruments for use in chemistry and biology. Beckman earned bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Illinois in four years, then headed west to Caltech, where he earned a doctorate in chemistry after toiling in a department that has produced five Nobel Prize winners, including his friend the late Linus Pauling. He was asked to stay on and teach, which he did, for $250 a month. But he also set up a lab off-campus where he could pursue privately-supported interests. It was in that little lab that he created a revolutionary pH meter that made it quick and easy to measure the acidity and alkalinity of citrus. The meter was the first of many instruments that would have a direct impact on human welfare. Beckman and his company played a role in the creation of a polio vaccine and made it possible for emergency-room doctors to quickly detect kidney and pancreatic failure. His tools also helped enrich the diet of soldiers and sailors, let submariners analyze the dank air they were breathing, and contributed to pioneering smog studies in greater Los Angeles in the 1950s and '60s. One of his chromatographs analyzed gas on Mars. Another instrument measured the brain waves of Gemini astronauts. Beckman loved the creative process. But he allowed his company to merge with SmithKline Corp. in 1982 in a deal worth a reported $1 billion. About half of that money went to Beckman and his wife, Mabel. The merger made the couple among the richest people in California and gave birth to a second career for Arnold Beckman: philanthropy. There were times when the self-effacing chemist would wander the breezeways of his seaside home in Corona del Mar, pondering which projects to support. The Beckman donations span the fields of science, medicine and education. The University of California, Irvine, is home to one of five major research centers that Beckman's money funded. Institutions in Orange County have received about $40 million of the largesse. Beckman originally intended to give all of his money away. But he changed his mind after Mabel died in 1989. The Beckman Foundation, using investments, will operate in perpetuity. "It's fair to say that, considered in its totality, the results of his remarkable philanthropy have played a substantial part in enabling the United States to lead the world in science and technology," said Bruce Alberts, president of the National Academy of Sciences."

Arnold Beckman: Key dates 1910 Reads "14 Weeks of Chemistry," decides to become a chemist. 1918 Graduates high school, joins U.S. Marines, meets Mabel Meinzer, whom he marries in 1925. 1922 Receives bachelor's degree from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Earns master's degree one year later. 1928 Earns doctorate at California Institute of Technology, Pasadena. 1935 Invents pH meter. Founds National Technical Laboratory South Pasadena, renamed Beckman Instruments in 1950. 1940 Invents helipot, a device instrumental in radar. 1942 Develops personal radiation dosimeter for Manhattan Project. 1943 Develops oxygen analyzer for submarines, airplanes and incubators. 1954 Beckman Instruments moves to Fullerton. 1978 Establishes Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. 1982 Beckman Instruments merges with SmithKline Corp. in $1 billion deal. 2004 Dies May 18, at 104, at Scripps Hospital in La Jolla.

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