Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 1904-1967

Physicist (quantum theory and nuclear physics). On the physics faculty at California Institute of Technology and University of California, Berkeley in theoretical physics, 1929-1947; director of Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, 1943-1945; chairman of the General Advisory Committee of the Atomic Energy Commission, 1946-1952; director of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, 1947-1966.

IMPORTANT DATES
April 22, 1904
Birth, New York (N.Y.).

1925
Obtained A.B., Harvard University, Cambridge (Mass.).

1925 – 1926
Studied at University of Cambridge, Cambridge (England).

1927
Obtained Ph.D. in physics, University of Göttingen, Göttingen (Germany).

1927 – 1928
Fellow, National Research Council. Oppenheimer split the fellowship over the academic year, spending 1927 at Harvard University and 1928 at California Institute of Technology.

1928 – 1929
International Education Board Fellow, University of Leiden and Eidgenössische Technische Hochshule, Zurich.

1929 – 1947
Assistant Professor (1929-1931), Associate Professor (1931-1936), and Professor of Theoretical Physics (1936-1947), University of California, Berkeley and California Institute of Technology. Oppenheimer split his time between the two, spending only one semester teaching at California Institute of Technology after being promoted to full Professor in 1936, Berkeley (Calif.).

1941
Elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

1943 – 1945
Director, Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

1947 – 1952
Chair, General Advisory Committee, United States Atomic Energy Commission.

1947 – 1967
Director, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton (N.J.).

1948
President, American Physical Society (APS).

1949 – 1955
Member, Board of Overseers, Harvard University.

1951 – 1954
Member, Science Advisory Committee, United States Office of Defense Mobilization.

1954
Declared a security risk by the United States Atomic Energy Commission and removed from government service after security hearings before the House Un-American Activities Committee.

1963
Awarded the Enrico Fermi Award, United States Atomic Energy Commission. This was given for his contributions to the development of nuclear energy and as a symbolic gesture to clear his name for the events of 1954.

February 18, 1967
Death, Princeton (N.J.).

OCCUPATION
Nuclear physicist.

PLACES
BIRTH
New York (N.Y.)

UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION
Cambridge (Mass.)

GRADUATE EDUCATION
Cambridge (England)

Göttingen (Germany)

EMPLOYMENT
Berkeley (Calif.)

Pasadena (Calif.)

Princeton (N.J.)

DEATH
Princeton (N.J.)

Date Event
1904, Apr. 22 Born, New York, N.Y.
1925 A.B., Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
1925-1926 Student, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England
1927 Ph. D., University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
1928-1929 Fellow, International Education Board, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands, and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
1929-1947 Assistant professor, associate professor, and professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, and California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif.
1940 Married Katherine Harrison
1943-1945 Director, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, Los Alamos, N. Mex.
1946 Member, Secretary of State's Committee on Atomic Energy
1946-1952 Chairman, General Advisory Committee to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
1946-1954 Member, Research and Development Board's Committee on Atomic Energy
1947-1966 Director and professor of physics, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, N.J.
1949-1955 Member, Board of Overseers of Harvard College
1954 Denied security clearance by the Personnel Security Board of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
Published Science and the Common Understanding (New York: Simon and Schuster. 120 pp.)
1955 Published The Open Mind (New York: Simon and Schuster. 146 pp.)
1963 Received the Enrico Fermi Award
1967, Feb. 18 Died, Princeton, N.J.