What was the Manhattan Project?
The Manhattan Project was the secret US-led program during World War II that developed the first atomic bombs. It involved scientists from the United States, Britain and Canada.
The project began in 1942, after scientists, including Albert Einstein in a famous letter, warned that Nazi Germany might build an atomic weapon. It was led by General Leslie Groves, with physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer directing the main weapons laboratory at Los Alamos, New Mexico. At its peak, it employed about 130,000 people across many sites.
On July 16, 1945, the first atomic bomb was tested in the New Mexico desert, in the Trinity test. In August 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing many tens of thousands of people instantly and more later. Japan surrendered days later.
Legacy
The bombs began the nuclear age and an arms race with the Soviet Union. The project also led to nuclear power and medical uses of radiation. The 2023 film Oppenheimer, directed by Christopher Nolan, won the Oscar for Best Picture.
Did You Know?
The project got its name from the Manhattan Engineer District, the US Army office where it was first organized in New York.