- Born
- Died
- Birth nameJulius Robert Oppenheimer
- Nicknames
- Father of the Atom Bomb
- Oppie
- Height5′ 10″ (1.78 m)
- J. Robert Oppenheimer(April 22, 1904 - February 18, 1967) was an American theoretical physicist who was professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley. Oppenheimer was the wartime head of the Los Alamos Laboratory and is among those who are credited with being the "father of the atomic bomb" for their role in the Manhattan Project - the World War II undertaking that developed the first nuclear weapons. Oppenheimer was among those who observed the Trinity test in New Mexico, where the first atomic bomb was successfully detonated on July 16, 1945. He later remarked that the explosion brought to mind words from the Bhagavad Gita: "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." In August 1945, the weapons were used in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Bonitao
- His father's ancestors were Jews and originally came from Hanau. They opened a successful clothing store in the USA. Robert's father, Julius S. Oppenheimer, followed suit in 1888 and became a wealthy businessman. Robert's mother, Ella Friedman, was an art teacher. She trained as a painter in Paris and owned a studio in New York. In 1922, Oppenheimer began his studies at Harvard University, graduating with summa cum laude in 1925 after just three years. In 1926, after thoroughly familiarizing himself with the topic, Oppenheimer published several papers on the quantum mechanical treatment of complex questions of atomic structure. Through this work, Max Born became aware of Oppenheimer and offered him a place as a doctoral student in Göttingen.
In 1927, Oppenheimer received his doctorate with honors from Max Born on theoretical studies of spectra. He then accepted an assistant professor position in Berkeley, California. At a young age, at just 25, Oppenheimer was appointed professor at the University of Berkeley in 1929. He also taught physics at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena from 1929 to 1945. Robert Oppenheimer now worked in the field of atomic physics and quantum theory. He made a name for himself as a brilliant physicist in the fields of cosmic rays, positrons and neutron stars. From 1943 to 1945 he was director of the research laboratories at Los Alamos in New Mexico and headed the American atomic energy project, the "Manhattan Project". During this time, the atomic bomb was developed under his responsibility.
At the end of the Second World War, on August 6, 1945, the Americans dropped the world's first atomic bomb on the Japanese port city of Hiroshima. This attack directly killed 80,000 people. There were over 100,000 injured in this strike, and well over 200,000 people died from radioactive contamination. Three days later, on August 9, 1945, the United States Air Force bombed the Japanese port city of Nagasaki with another atomic bomb, causing devastation on a similar scale. From 1947 to 1966, the natural scientist headed the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton in New Jersey. From 1947 to 1956 he served as president of the General Advisory Committee of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), the American atomic energy agency. He then held a consulting position in this field. The physicist was so frightened by the devastation caused by atomic bombs that he refused to develop the hydrogen bomb. He also spoke publicly in favor of arms control. Oppenheimer was then suspected of belonging to the communists.
Oppenheimer had to endure numerous interrogations before the McCarthy Committee. There his previous connections to politically left-wing circles came up. His consistent refusal led to Oppenheimer's exclusion from further classified projects. In 1954, under Dwight D. Eisenhower, he was dismissed from all offices. In 1963 he was rehabilitated by President John F. Kennedy. That same year he was awarded the Enrico Fermi Prize, the Atomic Energy Agency's highest award. In the last part of his life, Robert Oppenheimer focused on the relationship between science and society. His publications include "Science and the Common Understanding" (1954) and the posthumously published work "Lectures on Electrodynamics" (1970).- IMDb Mini Biography By: Christian_Wolfgang_Barth
- SpouseKatherine Harrison Puening(November 1940 - February 18, 1967) (his death, 2 children)
- Children
- RelativesFrank Oppenheimer(Sibling)Charles Oppenheimer(Grandchild)Alan Oppenheimer(Cousin)
- Nuclear physicist. Member of team that developed atomic bomb.
- Is portrayed by Sam Waterston in Oppenheimer (1980), Dwight Schultz in Fat Man and Little Boy (1989), Hume Cronyn in "The Beginning Or The End", David Strathairn in "Day One" and Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer (2023).
- Director of Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, 1943-1945.
- Mentioned in the lyrics of the Sting song "Russians": "How can I save my little boy from Oppenheimer's deadly toy?".
- Mentioned (though not by name) in the song "Manhattan Project" by Rush.
- Any man whose errors take ten years to correct is quite a man. [speaking of Albert Einstein]
- Both the man of science and the man of action live always at the edge of mystery, surrounded by it.
- If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One. I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds. [Quoting the sacred Hindu epic "The Bhagavad Gita", at the first nuclear explosion, Alamogordo, New Mexico, July 16, 1945. Sometimes he is quoted as saying "... the Shatterer of Worlds."]
- There must be no barriers to freedom of inquiry. There is no place for dogma in science. The scientist is free, and must be free to ask any question, to doubt any assertion, to seek for any evidence, to correct any errors.
- Access to the Vedas is the greatest privilege this century may claim over all previous centuries. - J. Robert Oppenheimer
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content