Julius Robert Oppenheimer (1904 - 1967)

Born 22 Apr 1904 in New York City, New York, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Katherine (Puening) Oppenheimer — married 1 Nov 1940 in United States

Died 18 Feb 1967 at age 62 in Princeton, Mercer, New Jersey, United States

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Biography

J. Robert Oppenheimer is Notable.

Julius Robert Oppenheimer was born April 22, 1904 in New York City, New York, United States to Jewish parents: Julius Oppenheimer, a successful textile importer who had immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1888, and Ella Friedman,^[1] a painter. He attended the Ethical Culture School. Gifted from early on, he was especially interested in languages and would learn one quickly just so he could read a text in its original form. By the age of ten, Oppenheimer was delving into physics and chemistry.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]}

He married Kitty (Puening) Oppenheimer on November 1, 1940.^{[3][14][12][15]}

Career

Early in Oppenheimer's career, he went to Cambridge University's Cavendish Laboratory as research assistant to J. J. Thomson. While there, he proved poor at conducting experiments in the laboratory and came close to being expelled for misbehavior. He learned of the rising field of quantum mechanics and later transferred to the University of Göttingen, in Germany, to study quantum physics.^[16] He met and studied with some of the day's most prominent figures, including Max Born and Niels Bohr. He received his doctorate in 1927.^[17]

Staff at the University of California Radiation Laboratory, 1937

Oppenheimer was a theoretical physicist and became the director of the Los Alamos Laboratory during WWII. His role in organizing The Manhattan Project and the subsequent development of the first nuclear weapons during World War II led to his being named the "father of the Atomic Bomb".^{[3][4][11][12][13]}

Final Years

In 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson presented the physicist with the Enrico Fermi Award of the Atomic Energy Commission.^[18]

In 1965, at the height of the Cold War, Oppenheimer was interviewed for the NBC television program The Decision to Drop the Bomb about his involvement in the Manhattan Project and the development of atomic weaponry. By then 61 years old, Robert’s remarks on the scientists’ reaction to the first nuclear detonation are by now well-known:

We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita. Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and to impress him takes on his multi-armed form and says, “Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” I suppose we all thought that one way or another.^[19]

Oppenheimer retired from the Institute of Advanced Study in 1966 where he had been director. The year before he had been diagnosed with throat cancer, having long been a chain smoker. He underwent unsuccessful radiation treatment and chemotherapy late in 1966. He fell into a coma on February 15, 1967 and died February 18, 1967 at his home in Princeton, New Jersey.^{[20][21][3][4]} He was cremated and his ashes scattered at sea near Carvel Rock, St, John, United States Virgin Islands.^{[22][11][12][13]}

Sources

1. ↑ Image of Birth Certificate. Historical Vital Records. The New York City Municipal Archives. Father: Julius Robert Oppenheimer. Mother: Ella Oppenheimer, formerly Friedman. Name: Juliu Oppenheimer Soundex: O155. Manhattan Date: 1904-04-02 Certificate: 19763 https://web.archive.org/web/20230724203208/https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/view/1593063
2. ↑ https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/j-oppenheimer
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3} Wikipedia: J. Robert Oppenheimer
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Obituary in the New York Times
5. ↑ "New York, New York City Births, 1846-1909," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2W4W-S4P : accessed 5 November 2015), Julius Robert Oppenheimer, 22 Apr 1904; citing Birth, Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, New York Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,984,167.
6. ↑ "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M5WL-GFJ : accessed 5 November 2015), J Robert Oppenheimer in household of Julius Oppenheimer, Manhattan Ward 12, New York, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 743, sheet 1A, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,375,041.
7. ↑ "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJBS-3YH : accessed 5 November 2015), Robert J Oppenheimer in household of Julius Oppenheimer, Manhattan Assembly District 9, New York, New York, United States; citing sheet 13A, family 322, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,821,202.
8. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XC82-JPB : accessed 5 November 2015), J Robert Oppenheimer, Pasadena, Los Angeles, California, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 1237, sheet 11A, family 343, line 17, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 168; FHL microfilm 2,339,903.
9. ↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K9QQ-7Z2 : accessed 5 November 2015), J Robert Oppenheimer, Tract 5C, Berkeley, Oakland Judicial Township, Alameda, California, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 1-141, sheet 3A, family 77, NARA digital publication T627 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012), roll 189.
10. ↑ "United States 1950 Census", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6F9T-58MG : Sun Jul 23 02:59:06 UTC 2023), Entry for J Robert Oppenheimer and Katharine Oppenheimer, 6 April 1950.
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1 11.2} http://www.biography.com/people/j-robert-oppenheimer-9429168#life-after-wwii
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3} http://www.atomicarchive.com/Bios/Oppenheimer.shtml
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1 13.2} https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/julius-robert-oppenheimer
14. ↑ Cassidy, David (2005). J. Robert Oppenheimer and the American Century. New York: Pi Press. ISBN 0-13-147996-2. OCLC 56503198. pp. 186–187
15. ↑ "California, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1945," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGXB-2CL4 : 2 March 2020), J Robert Oppenheimer, Berkeley, Contra Costa, California, United States; from "Draft Registration Cards for California, 10/16/1940 - 03/31/1947." Database and images. Ancestry. (www.ancestry.com : n.d.); citing Draft Registration, Berkeley, Contra Costa, California, United States, citing NARA Records of the Selective Service System, 1926-1975. Record Group Number 147. NAID: 7644723. Records of the Selective Service System. The National Archives at St. Louis, Missouri, n.d.
16. ↑ https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/the-life-of-j-robert-oppenheimer-life-before-the-manhattan-project.htm
17. ↑ https://www.ias.edu/oppenheimer-legacy
18. ↑ https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/j-oppenheimer
19. ↑ https://www.privatdozent.co/p/the-eccentric-and-ingenious-father-4ea
20. ↑ https://stylecaster.com/entertainment/tv-movies/1618376/how-j-robert-oppenheimer-die/
21. ↑ https://www.osti.gov/opennet/manhattan-project-history/People/Administrators/robert-oppenheimer.html
22. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #2216

See also:

• Wikidata: Item Q132537, en:Wikipedia
• The Britannica Guide to The 100 Most Influential Scientists (2007), pp. 280, 281, 283-286.
• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/baoppe.html
• https://www.ias.edu/scholars/oppenheimer
• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/bomb/peopleevents/pandeAMEX65.html
• http://www.famousscientists.org/j-robert-oppenheimer/
• http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/ai/aboutopp.htm
• http://nuclearfiles.org/menu/library/biographies/bio_oppenheimer-julius.htm
• http://www.examiner.com/article/julius-robert-oppenheimer-father-of-the-atom-bomb
• http://www.britannica.com/biography/J-Robert-Oppenheimer
• http://www.sparknotes.com/biography/oppenheimer/section1.rhtml
• http://www.thocp.net/biographies/oppenheimer_robert.htm
• https://www.ias.edu/people/oppenheimer/work
• https://vault.fbi.gov/rosenberg-case/robert-j.-oppenheimer
• https://www.softschools.com/facts/scientists/j_robert_oppenheimer_facts/1606/
• J. Robert Oppenheimer on Goodreads, http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/308544.J_Robert_Oppenheimer accessed Apr 5, 2017
• https://getpocket.com/explore/item/one-of-the-last-living-manhattan-project-scientists-looks-back-at-the-atomic-bomb-tests?utm_source=pocket-newtab
• Julius is mentioned in the book 'BOOSEY & HAWKES: THE PUBLISHING STORY' written by Helen Wallace.'Boosey & Hawkes, the Publishing Story' by Helen Wallace-1