Important events (taken from americanhistory.about.com)
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1931: Heavy Hydrogen or deuterium is discovered by Harold C. Urey.
1932: The atom is split by John Crockcroft and E.T.S. Walton of Great Britain, thereby supporting Einstein's Theory of Relativity. 1933: Hungarian physicist, Leo Szilard, realizes the possibility of the nuclear chain reaction. 1934: The first nuclear fission is achieved by Enrico Fermi of Italy. 1939: The Theory of Nuclear Fission is announced by Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch. January 29, 1939: Robert Oppenheimer learns of the military possibilities of nuclear fission. August 2, 1939: Albert Einstein writes to President Franklin Roosevelt concerning the use of uranium as a new source of energy leading to the formation of the Committee on Uranium. September 1, 1939: World War II Begins. |
February 23, 1941: Plutonium is discovered by Glenn Seaborg.
October 9, 1941: FDR gives the go-ahead for the development of an atomic weapon. September 23, 1942: Colonel Leslie Groves is placed in charge of the Manhattan Project. J. Robert Oppenheimer becomes the Project's Scientific Director. December 2, 1942: First controlled nuclear fission reaction is produced by Enrico Fermi at the University of Chicago. May 5, 1943: Japan becomes the primary target for any future atomic bomb according to the Military Policy Committee of the Manhattan Project. April 27, 1945: The Target Committee of the Manhattan Project select four cities as possible targets for the atomic bomb. They are: Kyoto, Hiroshima, Kokura, and Niigata. May 25, 1945: Leo Szilard attempts to warn President Truman in person concerning the dangers of atomic weapons. July 1, 1945: Leo Szilard begins a petition to get President Truman to call off using the atomic bomb in Japan. |
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July 13,1945: American intelligence discovers the only obstacle to peace with Japan is 'unconditional surrender'.
July 16, 1945: The world's first atomic detonation takes place in the 'Trinity Test' at Alamogordo, New Mexico. July 21, 1945: President Truman orders atomic bombs to be used. July 26, 1945: Potsdam Declaration is issued, calling for the 'unconditional surrender of Japan'. July 28, 1945: Potsdam Declaration is rejected by Japan. August 6, 1945: Little Boy, a uranium bomb, is detonated over Hiroshima, Japan. It kills between 90,000 and 100,000 people immediately. |
August 7, 1945: U.S. decides to drop warning pamphlets on Japanese cities.
August 9, 1945: The second atomic bomb to hit Japan, Fat Man, was scheduled to be dropped at Kokura. However, because of poor weather the target was moved to Nagasaki. August 9, 1945: President Truman addresses the nation. August 10, 1945: U.S. drops warning leaflets on Nagasaki. September 2, 1945: Japan announces its formal surrender. |
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