Person Oppenheimer; Julius Robert (1904 - 1967); theoretical physicist Oppenheimer Julius Robert theoretical physicist 1904 - 1967 American Male New York, New York, USA 22/04/1904 19040422 Princeton, New Jersey, USA 18/02/1967 19670218

Theoretical physicist Theoretical physics Quantum physics Education: Alcuin Preparatory School; Ethical Culture Society School (1911); Harvard College (1922); Christ's College, Cambridge (1924); University of Göttingen (1926) Career: Sailed for England to do research at the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge (1925); invited by Max Born to the University of Göttingen, where he met Nils Bohr and P.A.M. Dirac (1927); returned to the United States, follwing short visits to science centres in Leiden and Zurich, and began teaching physics at the University of California at Berkeley and the California Institute of Technology; became the administrator of the Manhattan project, and chose the plateau of Los Alamos, near Santa Fe, New Mexico as the location (1943); carried out first nuclear explosion, in collaboation with other exceptional scientists, at the Trinity Site near Alamogordo, New Mexico, after the surrender of Germany (16 July 1945); resigned his post (October 1945); became head of the Institute for Advanced Study (1947); served as chairman of the General Advisory Committee of the Atomic Energy Commission (1947-1952), which in October 1949 oppose the development of the hydrogen bomb; accused of having associated with communists in the past, of delaying the naming of Soviet agents, and of opposing the building of the hydrogen bomb (1953); following a security hearing he was declared not guilty of treason but was prohibited access to military secrets and as a consequence, his contract as adviser to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission was cancelled (1954); US President Lyndon B. Johnson presented Oppenheimer with the Enrico Fermi Award of the Atomic Energy Commission (1963); retired from the Institute for Advanced Study (1966); died of throat cancer (1967). Medals/awards: Medal for Merit (1946) Enrico Fermi Award (1963) Parents: Julius Seligmann Oppenheimer, textile importer and Ella (née Friedman), painter. Siblings: Frank Oppenheimer Spouse: Katherine "Kitty" Puening (1940) Children: Peter Oppenheimer (1941); Katherine Oppenheimer (1944) Director of the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II and is often referred to as the "father of the atomic bomb". Known for: Oppenheimer–Snyder model Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff equation Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff limit Oppenheimer–Phillips process Born–Oppenheimer approximation Foreign Member 03/05/1962 58 Sources: DSB Obituaries: Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 1968 vol 14 pp 391-416, plate, by H A Bethe References: Bertha Swirles Jeffreys, 'John Arthur Gaunt (1904-1944)' in NR 1990 vol 44 pp 73-79 G V R Born, FRS, 'The wide-ranging family history of Max Born' in NR 2002 vol 56 pp 219-262 International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) - Ottawa 1996 ISBN 0-9696035-3-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 RCN 11247 RCN 20002 RCN 15520 RCN 59715 RCN 20001 RCN 10301 22 Apr 1904 - 18 Feb 1967 The past Fellows entries are under continuous revision. If you have queries or additional information to contribute, please contact Library@royalsociety.org. Content in external sources is not controlled by the Royal Society and historical sources may include content that is now unacceptable. Reviewed on 20/12/2023 as part of the Name Authority Project update. NA5714 21/11/2001 Andyg Pmab 03/01/2024 RS_NET\VidaM Yes d302f5a8-ef39-4677-bbc2-e77561cd66b3