AEC Denies Noted Scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer Appeal Over Security Clearance
The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) on this day rejected the appeal of the noted nuclear physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer who had been stripped of his security clearance by the AEC. Without a security clearance Oppenheimer was no longer able to participate in top-level nuclear research.
The Oppenheimer case was a major controversy during the Cold War. He has been generally referred to as the “father of the atomic bomb” because of his key role in the Manhattan Project, which developed the bomb during World War II. Because of some left-wing political associations, however, his security clearance was withdrawn by the Atomic Energy Commission on December 23, 1953. There was never any proof that he had been a member of the Communist Party or done anything disloyal to the U.S.
Critics of the Cold War saw the Oppenheimer case as only the most famous example of how unproven allegations about political associations was depriving the country of the benefit of many talented scientists.
The loss of his security clearance ended his ability to work on government-related projects. He finished his career at the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton University. He continued to work on physics problems and travel and lecture around the world until his death in 1967.
In 1963, in a gesture of reconciliation, President John F. Kennedy nominated Oppenheimer for the prestigious Enrico Fermi Award for his contributions to physics. Because of President Kennedy’s assassination, however, the award was presented by President Lyndon Johnson.
Watch an interview with Oppenheimer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVCL3Rnr8xE
Read: Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer (2006)
Learn more about Oppenheimer at the Atomic Archive:
http://www.atomicarchive.com/Bios/Oppenheimer.shtmlLearn more about the ACLU in the Cold War and other Times of National Crisis: https://www.aclu.org/aclu-history-rooting-out-subversives-paranoia-and-patriotism-mccarthy-era