On July 16, 1945, the fathers of the nuclear age, Robert Oppenheimer, General Leslie R. Groves, Kenneth Bainbridge and other scientists of the Manhattan Project, gathered at the Alamagordo Test Range in New Mexico to detonate the first atomic bomb at 5:29 a.m.
Sand at the site turned instantly to glass. The 19-kiloton explosion ushered the world into the Nuclear Age. Eight days later, President Harry Truman issued the order to use the atomic bomb against Japan. But on July 16, 1945, only a select few were in New Mexico to witness history at the test site code named “Trinity.”
In this radio diary, hear the voices of Robert Oppenheimer, President Harry Truman, and others, following the first nuclear explosion in history, 59 years ago today, at the Trinity Test Site in New Mexico.
Guests:
We welcome comments from all of our listeners.
Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
These comments are moderated by On Point and WBUR.
This site supports Gravatars.