Edward Teller

["Kim D. Merritt" <k.merritt@larc.nasa.gov>]

It is with great sadness that I forward the following story.



Edward Teller, 'Father of H-Bomb,' Dies

37 minutes ago

By RON HARRIS, Associated Press Writer



SAN FRANCISCO - Edward Teller, a member of the Manhattan Project that 

created the first atomic bomb and who later emerged as the foremost 

champion of the vastly more destructive hydrogen bomb, has died. He was 95.

Teller, dubbed the "father of the H-bomb" and a key advocate of the 

anti-missile shield known as "Star Wars," died Tuesday at his home on the 

Stanford University campus.

Teller was a tireless advocate of a vigorous United States defense policy 

during and after the Cold War, urging development of advanced weapons as 

way to deter war.

"The second half of the century has been incomparably more peaceful than 

the first, simply by putting power into the hands of those people who 

wanted peace," he told a forum on the 50th anniversary of the atomic bomb 

attacks on Japan.

Teller's staunch support for defense stemmed in part from two events that 

shaped his view of world affairs — the 1919 communist revolution in his 

native Hungary and the rise of Nazism while he lived in Germany in the 

early 1930s.

Witty and personable, with a passion for playing the piano, Teller 

nevertheless was a persuasive Cold Warrior who influenced presidents of 

both parties.

In 1939, he was one of three scientists who encouraged Albert Einstein to 

alert President Franklin Roosevelt that the power of nuclear fission — the 

splitting of an atom's nucleus — could be tapped to create a devastating 

new weapon.

He would later quip that he often believed the only reason he became a part 

of the trio was "because I was the only one who knew how to drive and had a 

car to get us there."

Two years later, even before the first atom bomb was completed, fellow 

scientist Enrico Fermi suggested that nuclear fusion — fusing rather than 

splitting nuclei — might be used for an even more destructive explosive, 

the hydrogen bomb.

Teller's enthusiasm and pursuit of such a bomb won him the title "father of 

the H-bomb," a characterization he said he hated. The first megaton H-bomb 

was exploded in 1952.

The H-bomb was never used in war, but atom bombs were dropped on Japan's 

Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Some scientists had suggested at the time that a 

bomb be exploded in the sky miles over Tokyo harbor in hopes of scaring 

Japan into surrendering with a minimum of casualties.

"I think we shared the opportunity and the duty, which we did not pursue, 

to find... a possibility to demonstrate" the bomb, Teller said at the 

anniversary forum. "Now in retrospect I have a regret."

Among honors Teller received were the Albert Einstein Award, the Enrico 

Fermi Award and the National Medal of Science and, in July, the 

Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Teller also will be remembered for his role in destroying the career of his 

one-time boss, Robert Oppenheimer — which alienated Teller from many of his 

colleagues.

Teller claimed Oppenheimer, who had directed the Manhattan Project, had 

slowed development of the H-bomb, allowing the Soviet Union to catch up. 

The allegations became the basis for the most serious charges brought 

against Oppenheimer in 1954 when his security clearance was lifted.

In his memoirs, published in 2001, Teller remained critical of Oppenheimer 

but said he was stupid to testify against him. Teller also said he was 

motivated not by Oppenheimer's opposition to the hydrogen bomb, but by the 

way Oppenheimer had treated another man.

Teller was born Jan. 15, 1908, in Budapest. He received his university 

education in Germany, earning a Ph.D. in physics at the University of Leipzig.

In 1935, Teller and his wife, Mici, came to the United States, where Teller 

was a professor at George Washington University until 1941, the same year 

the Tellers became U.S. citizens.

Teller joined the Manhattan Project in 1942 at Los Alamos (N.M.) Scientific 

Laboratory to work on developing the first atomic bomb. He also promoted 

the hydrogen fusion bomb, a concept that attracted interest but remained 

secondary to the work on the atomic weapon.

After the success of the Manhattan Project, Teller left in 1946 to become a 

physics professor at the University of Chicago.

When the Soviets tested their first atomic bomb in 1949, Teller persuaded 

the Truman administration to push ahead on H-bomb research. He returned to 

Los Alamos and worked on the bomb through the first megaton-scale explosion 

at Eniwetok in the Pacific in 1952.

At the same time, Teller pushed for the creation of a second national 

science lab — the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He became a 

consultant there in 1952, associate director in 1954 and director from 

1958-60. He continued as a consultant at the lab after retiring in 1975.

"He put his heart and soul into this laboratory and into ensuring the 

security of this nation, and his dedication never foundered," said Michael 

Anastasio, director of the lab.

In 1983, Teller persuaded President Reagan that space-based laser weapons 

could provide a secure anti-missile defense. Reagan bought the idea and 

proposed the multibillion-dollar Strategic Defense Initiative, dubbed "Star 

Wars."

Computer experts raised doubts early on about the reliability of the 

complex software required for a Star Wars system. But even as the evidence 

mounted that Star Wars would cost billions more than originally expected 

and would take years longer to develop, Teller continued to support it.

"The danger for ballistic missiles in the hands of 18 different nations has 

increased, and will increase, unless we have a defense," he said. "If we 

want to have stable, peaceful conditions, defense against sudden attack by 

rockets is more needed than ever."

Mici Teller, his wife of 66 years, died in 2000. He is survived by his son, 

Paul Teller, his daughter, Wendy Teller, four grandchildren and a great 

grandchild.

In Teller's autobiography "Memoirs: A Twentieth-Century Journey in Science 

and Politics," Teller said he was often asked whether he regretted having 

worked on the atomic and hydrogen bombs.

"My answer is no. I deeply regret the deaths and injuries that resulted 

from the atomic bombings, but my best explanation of why I do not regret 

working on weapons is a question: What if we hadn't?"





Kim Merritt

Radiation/Laser Safety Officer

HazMed, Inc.

NASA Langley Research Center

Hampton, VA

(757)864-3210

<mailto:k.merritt@larc.nasa.gov>



Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed herein are my own and do not 

necessarily state or reflect those of NASA or the United States Government, 

nor do they represent the official position of NASA.