Kenneth Bainbridge

Born on 27 July 1904 in Cooperstown, N.Y., physicist Kenneth Bainbridge directed the first test of the atomic bomb. He studied electrical engineering at MIT and received a PhD in physics from Princeton University in 1929. He made a name for himself by designing mass spectrometers to measure the mass of atomic isotopes and a cyclotron to accelerate charged particles. In 1943 Robert Oppenheimer recruited Bainbridge for the Manhattan Project. Bainbridge was put in charge of the first nuclear test, Project Trinity, which took place on 16 July 1945. The test was successful, resulting in what Bainbridge called “a foul and awesome display.” After the war Bainbridge vocally opposed atomic weapon testing and the nuclear buildup of the cold war. He died in 1996 at age 91; here is the obituary that ran in Physics Today. (Photo credit: Los Alamos National Laboratory)

Date in History: 27 July 1904