History of the Atomic Bomb
December 1938 - German radio chemists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann discover the process of fission in uranium.
August 2, 1939 - Albert Einstein writes President Franklin D. Roosevelt, telling the President of the importance of nuclear research and how that research might lead to developing powerful bombs. Einstein also alerts him that Germany has engaged in uranium research.
February 24, 1941 - Glenn T. Seaborg's research group at the University of California in Berkeley discovers plutonium.
January 19, 1942 - President Roosevelt approves production of the atomic bomb following a National Academy of Sciences report determining that a bomb is feasible.
June 17, 1942 - President Roosevelt instructs the Army to take responsibility for construction of an atomic weapons complex, which the Army assigns to the Corps of Engineers.
August 13, 1942 - The Army Corps of Engineers establishes the Manhattan Engineer District with support of the United Kingdom and Canada to develop and build the atomic bomb. Uranium separation facilities are built at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Plutonium reactors are built at Hanford, Washington. Lastly, a weapons laboratory is set up at Los Alamos, New Mexico.
September 19, 1942 - Brigadier General Leslie R. Groves, head of the Manhattan Engineer District, selects Oak Ridge for uranium separation facilities.
November 25, 1942 - Groves selects Los Alamos, New Mexico, as a laboratory to design an atomic bomb.
December 2, 1942 - Metallurgical Laboratory scientists led by Enrico Fermi achieve the first self-sustained nuclear chain reaction underneath Stagg Field at the University of Chicago.
January 16, 1943 - Groves selects Hanford as the site for full-scale plutonium production and separation facilities.
July 16, 1945 - Trinity Test
August 6, 1945 - Uranium bomb is dropped on Hiroshima, Japan
August 9, 1945 - Plutonium bomb is dropped on Nagasaki, Japan
August 1, 1946 - President Truman signs the Atomic Energy Act of 1946 transferring Manhattan Project assets and responsibilities to the Atomic Energy Commission
January 1, 1947 - All atomic energy activities are transferred to the Atomic Energy Commission
August 14, 1947 - Ground is broken at the Brookhaven National Laboratory for the Graphite Research Reactor, the first reactor constructed for the sole purpose of exploring the peaceful uses of the atom.
August 2, 1939 - Albert Einstein writes President Franklin D. Roosevelt, telling the President of the importance of nuclear research and how that research might lead to developing powerful bombs. Einstein also alerts him that Germany has engaged in uranium research.
February 24, 1941 - Glenn T. Seaborg's research group at the University of California in Berkeley discovers plutonium.
January 19, 1942 - President Roosevelt approves production of the atomic bomb following a National Academy of Sciences report determining that a bomb is feasible.
June 17, 1942 - President Roosevelt instructs the Army to take responsibility for construction of an atomic weapons complex, which the Army assigns to the Corps of Engineers.
August 13, 1942 - The Army Corps of Engineers establishes the Manhattan Engineer District with support of the United Kingdom and Canada to develop and build the atomic bomb. Uranium separation facilities are built at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Plutonium reactors are built at Hanford, Washington. Lastly, a weapons laboratory is set up at Los Alamos, New Mexico.
September 19, 1942 - Brigadier General Leslie R. Groves, head of the Manhattan Engineer District, selects Oak Ridge for uranium separation facilities.
November 25, 1942 - Groves selects Los Alamos, New Mexico, as a laboratory to design an atomic bomb.
December 2, 1942 - Metallurgical Laboratory scientists led by Enrico Fermi achieve the first self-sustained nuclear chain reaction underneath Stagg Field at the University of Chicago.
January 16, 1943 - Groves selects Hanford as the site for full-scale plutonium production and separation facilities.
July 16, 1945 - Trinity Test
August 6, 1945 - Uranium bomb is dropped on Hiroshima, Japan
August 9, 1945 - Plutonium bomb is dropped on Nagasaki, Japan
August 1, 1946 - President Truman signs the Atomic Energy Act of 1946 transferring Manhattan Project assets and responsibilities to the Atomic Energy Commission
January 1, 1947 - All atomic energy activities are transferred to the Atomic Energy Commission
August 14, 1947 - Ground is broken at the Brookhaven National Laboratory for the Graphite Research Reactor, the first reactor constructed for the sole purpose of exploring the peaceful uses of the atom.