Atomic bomb

The Manhattan Project & the Atomic Bomb

By otay718

  • Discovery of Uranium Fission

    In 1938, Otto Hahn, Lise Meitner, and Fritz Strassmann discovered that when bombarded with neutrons, a uranium atom splits. The energy released in the reaction would be enough to power a bomb. (Citation)

  • Einstein's Letter

    Einstein's Letter
    German Scientist Albert Eistein, aided by Leo Szilard, writes a letter to American President Franklin D Roosevelt warning him of the Nazi's development of the atomic bomb. He urged America to begin research on the topic. (Citation)(Image)

  • The Briggs Committee

    FDR appoints the Briggs Committee to investigate nuclear fission and the atomic bomb. (Citation)

  • The Manhattan Project

    The War Department’s Army Corps of Engineers set up the Manhattan project for research and development of the atomic bomb. Research was done all over the country, but a lab in Los Alamos, New Mexico became the central site in producing atomic weapons. (Citation)

  • Groves & Oppenheimer

    Colonel Leslie Groves is put in charge of the Manhattan Project and recruits J. Robert Oppenheimer as Scientific Director. (Citation)

  • Controlled Nuclear Fission

    Controlled Nuclear Fission
    At the University of Chicago, Enrico Fermi and his team produce the first controlled and self-sustained nuclear fission reation. (Citation) (Image)

  • President Roosevelt's Grant

    President Roosevelt's Grant
    FDR grants $2 billion to the Manhattan Engineering District for the development of the atomic bomb. (Citation) (Image)

  • The First Atomic Bomb

    The First Atomic Bomb
    The culmination of the Manhattan Project's efforts was the Trinity Test, when the first atomic bomb was successfully tested in Los Alamos. (Citation)

  • Bombing of Hiroshima

    President Henry S. Truman ordered the deployment atomic weapons on Japan to force a surrender. The bomb "Little Boy" was dropped on Hiroshima, causing 130,000 causalties of Japanese men, women and children, and 90% of the city lay in ruin. (Citation)

  • Bombing of Nagasaki

    Bombing of Nagasaki
    Truman deployed a second atomic bomb called "Fat Man" onto Nagasaki, resulting in 75,000 casualties and the destruction of one third of the city. Japan surrenders 5 days later, ending World War II (Citation)