The Destroyer of Worlds
""Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.""
Led the Manhattan Project, creating the atomic bomb. He spent the rest of his life warning the world about the weapon he unleashed.
At 5:29 a.m. on July 16, 1945, the deserts of New Mexico turned white. The first atomic bomb had detonated.
As the mushroom cloud rose, Oppenheimer famously recalled a line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita: "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."
Later, in a meeting with President Truman, he said, "Mr. President, I feel I have blood on my hands." Truman was disgusted and reportedly said, "Don't let that crybaby in here again."
J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904–1967) was an American theoretical physicist and director of the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory.
Born in New York City.
Appointed scientific director.
First nuclear test.
Stripped of security clearance.
Succumbs to cancer.
Manhattan Project: Development of the first nuclear weapons.
Institute for Advanced Study: Served as director.
Enrico Fermi Award (1963): For contributions to theoretical physics.
Father of the Atomic Bomb.
Died on February 18, 1967, of throat cancer.