Full Name: Julius Robert Oppenheimer
Profession: Physicist and Father of the Atomic Bomb
Biography: J. Robert Oppenheimer was an American theoretical physicist and the scientific director of the Manhattan Project during World War II. His leadership in the development of the atomic bomb earned him the nickname "father of the atomic bomb."
Born into a wealthy Jewish family, Oppenheimer displayed exceptional academic talents from a young age. After completing his bachelor's degree in chemistry at Harvard University in 1925, he went on to obtain his doctorate in physics from the University of Göttingen in 1927, studying under Max Born.
By 1936, he had become a full professor at the University of California, Berkeley, where he made notable contributions to quantum mechanics and nuclear physics, notably the Born–Oppenheimer approximation and research on electrons and positrons.
Oppenheimer's scientific prowess led to his selection as the director of the Los Alamos Laboratory in 1942, part of the top-secret Manhattan Project tasked with creating the first nuclear weapons. His leadership was integral to the project's accomplishment, culminating in the Trinity test, the world's first detonation of an atomic device, in July 1945. This test was a prelude to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August that year, which remain the only times nuclear weapons have been used in conflict.
Following World War II, Oppenheimer took on the role of director at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and became the chair of the General Advisory Committee of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. He used his position to advocate for the international control of nuclear energy and controversially spoke out against the hydrogen bomb's development.
Oppenheimer's advocacy for arms control, combined with earlier ties to the Communist Party USA, led to an intense political controversy that resulted in the revocation of his security clearance in 1954, effectively severing his connections to the government.
Despite this setback, Oppenheimer continued to educate, write, and contribute to the field of physics until he was awarded the Enrico Fermi Award in 1963, symbolizing a belated acknowledgement of his scientific contributions. He passed away from throat cancer in 1967.
Throughout his life, Oppenheimer's work intersected with that of other luminaries such as Enrico Fermi, Ernest Lawrence, and Edward Teller, and he left a lasting impact on theoretical physics, including the first theoretical description of black holes and neutron stars.
Born: April 22, 1904
Birthplace: NYC, New York, USA
Generation: Greatest Generation
Chinese Zodiac: Dragon
Star Sign: Taurus
Died: February 18, 1967 (aged 62)
Cause of Death: Throat cancer
Articles and Photos
Historical Events
- 1954-04-13 Robert Oppenheimer accused of being a communist
- 1954-06-29 US Atomic Energy Commission votes to revoke Dr. Robert Oppenheimer's security clearance, effectively ending his career as a nuclear physicist
Personal Life
- 1940-11-01 Theoretical physicist Robert Oppenheimer (36) weds biologist Katherine Harrison Puening
References
Famous Physicists
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