Oppenheimer

An American Prometheus

TIMELINE

01

Oppenheimer’s life

02

The nuclear program

03

The cold war

04

The 20th century’s discoveries and inventions

Oppenheimer's life

Oppenheimer born in New York

April, 22 1904

He is ill with colitis and dysentery

1921-1922

He go in Haward University

September 1922

Graduates from Havard with a degree in physics Oppenheimer arrive at England.

1925

He get a doctorate from the University of Gottingen in Germany.

Mai 1927

He returned to the US and became professor and researcher in theoretical physics at the University of California, Berkeley.

1929

Oppenheimer publishes his first nuclear physics paper

February 1931

He meet Jean TAtlock, Oppenheimer’s mistress, during one time

1936

He meet Katherine Puening Harrison (Kitty)

June 1939

He gets married with Kitty

1940

Groove designates Oppenheimer as head of the Mahathan Project

February, 25 1943

Kitty births two children, the fist is a boy: Peter and the second is a girl: Tony

1941-1944

25 October 1945

Oppenheimer designates President of the General Advisory Committee (GAC)

January, 3 1947

December, 21 1953

Lewis Strauss informs Oppenheimer that he declaring a lawsuit against him.

April 1954 - Mai 1954

Oppenheimer receives three prize to congratulate his work on the nuclear bomb and on the physic

1947-1962

February, 18 1967

Oppenheimer dies

The Nuclear Program

The discovery of the fission of the nucleus, by Lise Meitner and her nephew Otto Frisch

1938

Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered to begin the developpement of a nuclear weapon

1939

The bombing of Peal Harbor promted the United States to join the race for the development of nuclear technology

1941

The United States took the process of the development from the british to improve it with four different methodes

1942

The expansion of Los Alamos to host the scientists and their families

1943

On the 16th of July the first nuclear explosion called the Trinity Test occurred

1945

The Nuclear Program

On the 6th and 9th of August Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed

1945

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was created to peacefully use nuclear technology

1957

The Cuban Crisis brought a threat of a nuclear war

1962

1968

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was signed on the 12th of June

The Chernobyl nuclear disaster took place

1986

The Fukushima nuclear incident took place

2011

The Cold War

Truman Doctrine - The United States pledges to help all democratic nations threatened by Communism. It provides $400 million in ald to Turkey and Greece to prevent a Communist takeover.

1947

1950

Korean War - North Korea

The USA detonates its first hydrogen bomb (H-bomb)

1952

1953

The USSR detonates its first H-bomb

1962

Cuban missile crisis

The USA sends troops to South Vietnam to prevent a communist takeover by North vietnam

1965

The Cold War

North Vietnam launches the Tet offensive in South Vietnam.

1968

The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT)were held between the USA and the USSR in an attempt to limit the production of nuclear weapons. Both countries signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

1972

Helsinki Accords - In August 1975, 35 countries signed the Helsinki Accords. Europe's borders were fixed, human rights were established and a commitment was made to improve international relations.

1975

1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistani

1979

On March 23, 1983, President Reagan proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), also known as the "Star Wars" program, which called for sending weapons into space to protect the U.S. from missile attack.

1983

The Berlin Wall is demolished, opening the borders of East Germany and signaling the end of the Cold War.

1989

The 20th century’s discoveries and inventions

First motorized airplane invented by Wright's brothers

1903

Albert Einstein discovered the theory of relativity

1905

1911

Rutherford discovered the nucleus of the atom

Invention of sonar by Lewis Nixon, Paul Langevin and Constantin Chilowski

1915

1926

Invention of television by John Logie Baird

James Chadwick discovered the neutron

1932

The 20th century’s discoveries and inventions

Discovery of plutonium in the University of California at Berkeley

1940

Yuri Gagarin, the first human being to fly into space during the Vostok 1 mission, April 12, 1961

1961

Americans Armstrog and Aldrin walk on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission

1969

On September 2, 1969, American researchers connected two enormous computers at the University of California so that they could exchange information. This is the beginning of Arpanet, ancestor of the Internet.

1969

Invention of cellphone by Martin Cooper the April 3, 1973

1973

The creation of the World Wide Web by Tim Burners Lee marks the opening of the Internet to the general public

1983

On Monday July 21, 1969, men landed on the Moon for the first time : this was the Apollo 11 mission, a mission of the American Apollo space program. The three astronauts are Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. The American space agency, NASA, fulfills the goal set by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 of landing a crew on the Moon. He wishes to demonstrate the superiority of the United States over the Soviet Union and to respond to Soviet successes in the context of the Cold War, which then put these two countries against each other. Soline

Lewis Strauss informed Oppenheimer that he declared a lawsuit against him. When Lewis-Strauss updated Oppenheimer that he launched a project against him, Oppenheimer had the choice between defending himself or resigning. He decided to defend himself after two meetings with two lawyers. During the trial, Lewis-Strauss accused Oppenheimer, and sometimes he used false information. His goal was to upset Oppenheimer. President Eisenhower suspended the scientist's security clearance following the board's verdict. On May 6, 1954, the Commission handed down its decision. The Commission affirmed that Oppenheimer was a loyal citizen, but he could not recover his security clearance. The physicist decided to have the decision reviewed by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. On June 29, 1954, the Commission handed its decision: Oppenheimer was no longer eligible for security clearance. Thelma

Oppenheimer met Harry.S Truman. During this meeting, the President and Oppenheimer discussed about the two bombs dropped in Asia and about the Manhattan Project. Truman revealed his gratefulness to Oppenheimer and the scientist of the Manhattan project to congratulate them about their work on the atomic bombs. This discuss allowed also the two men to talk about the danger and the multiplication of the nuclear weapons. They agreed that the most important thing during this period was to control these new destructive technologies and the use of them. However, during this meeting, there were some tensions between the two men. Oppenheimer wanted to explain his misfortune since the August month. Indeed, Oppenheimer released the consequences about the dropping of the two bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The physicist declared: "Mr. President, I have blood on my hands." Truman did not understand this reaction and asked his assistant never to see Oppenheimer again. He said: "After all, he only made the bomb, I gave the order to use it". This event of the life of Oppenheimer was very specific. During the same year, he received by the President the prize: Medal for Merit to congratulate him about his work in Los Alamos. Thelma

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty :12/06/1968 In the context of the Cold War, a race began : the race for nuclear weapons. In order to control and stop the propagation of nuclear weapon and to contain its danger, on the 12th of June 1968 a treaty was signed between nuclear and non-nuclear states. One of the biggest danger and the main reason why this treaty was signed is to avoid a nuclear war especially after the Cuban crisis. This treaty is also a way to slow down the pace of competition and it is a benefit because the developpement of such a weapon cost an excessive amount of money. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty is a begining of a era of international communication and the begining of an unders. Alice

The Korean War began on June 25, 1950 and ended on July 27, 1953, after an armistice was signed stipulating that the country would still be divided. At the end of the Second World War, Korea which had been occupied by the Japanese ,was divided along the 38th parallel. This is an internal border between North and South Korea, based on a circle of latitude. North Korea, supported by the Soviet Union, invaded the South on June 25, 1950, which was supported of the United States. The three-years war was exceptionally bloody, resulting in 3 million deaths and tens of thousands of injuries. Judith

The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 was a direct and dangerous confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and the conflict between the two biggest countries was close to a nuclear conflict. American spy planes detected Soviet missiles in Cuba, so President Kennedy ordered a naval blockade. Finally Kennedy lifts the blockade and secretly agrees to remove missiles from U.S. bases in Turkey. The crisis was unique, with calculations and miscalculations, as well as direct and secret communications, and miscommunications between the two sides. This dramatic crisis was also characterized by the fact that it took major place in the White House and the Kremlin, with little involvement of the respective bureaucracies involved in the foreign policy process. Judith

The invention of the first powered airplane was made by brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright. On December 17, 1903 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in the United States, they successfully made the first flight of their "Flyer I", a biplane where the pilot lies on his stomach. The plane was equipped with a 4-cylinder engine. It had no wheels and took off by sliding on a rail. This plane made only four flights, at ground level. The longest flew 284 meters and lasted 59 seconds. A few years later, with the First World War, aviation experienced considerable improvements. Soline

Hiroshima and Nagasaki : 6+9/08/1945 In 1945, the Second World War was coming to an end as Germany surrendered on the 8th of May. However, Japan did not plan to follow his ally in his defeat. So in order to end the war, on the 26th of July of 1945, in the Potsdam Declaration, The Allies called for an unconditional surrender of the Japanese Forces and gave an ultimatum. Since the japanese government ignored the warning, President Truman gave his agreement to bomb two cities with the newly created Atomic bomb : Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As a result of the two bombings, between 129,000 and 226,000 people were killed. The victims were mostly civilians. But today the number of victims that the bombings made is difficult to estimate because of the aftermath of the wounds, burns, radiation sickness and compounded illness and malnutrition. Even years after the survivants of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are dying of cancer due to radiations. Alice