J. Robert Oppenheimer was born on April 22, 1904 to Ella and Julius Oppenheimer. Ella was of European Jewish decent but her family had been in the United States for several generations. Julius emigrated from Germany when he was seventeen. The family gained substantial wealth by importing textiles into New York. Their social clout was also enhanced by Ella's painting career. Oppenheimer's home life was particularly claustrophobic and regimented with propriety. In his own words Oppenheimer was "an abnormally repulsively good little boy" (Goodchild, Peter.  J. Robert Oppenheimer, "Shatterer of Worlds". London, England: BBC, 1980.).

Despite his slight build, Oppenheimer was not one for sports or any physical exertion. He was driven everywhere, waited on by servants and refused to climb stairs at school, preferring to hold up class by waiting for the elevator. Oppenheimer eventually took up tennis after his parents did their best to encourage outdoor sports. The lanky boy lacked dexterity and did not excel in the sport so he quit. He could not tolerate poor performance.
  At eighteen, his father gave him a 28 foot sail boat which he named Trimethy after the chemical compound Trimethylene dioxide. He and his brother developed an appetite for danger, and would sail across small lakes at the hint of a summer storm. It is suspected that he chose such dangerous feats to get a reaction from his parents, but even after an outing when his father had to organize a search party, his brother remembers no reprimand. His love for danger arose again when he spent a summer in the Colorado Mountains training horses.
  Oppenheimer's taste for correctness and academics made him appear arrogant and snobbish. At fourteen he was locked naked in an icehouse overnight by a group of boys at a summer camp.
His friends from Harvard recall that "he was lonely and felt that he didn't fit in well with the human environment" (Goodchild, 1980, p.15). His feeling of isolation was confirmed by Oppenheimer himself when he confided in a professor near the time of his mother's death that "I am the loneliest man in the world" (Goodchild, 1980, p.18). His graduate yearbook quote read simply "In college three years as an undergraduate" (Goodchild, 1980, p.16).
  Oppenheimer had a habit of showing off his knowledge, much to the annoyance of his acquaintances. His professor from Harvard, Percy Bridgeman once had Oppenheimer over for supper. Oppenheimer admired a picture of a Greek Temple so Bridgeman commented on its date and style. He recalls that Oppenheimer quickly responded "Oh, that's interesting, because from the style of the capitals I would have put it fifty, a hundred years earlier than that." (Goodchild, 1980, p.16)
  Depression and mental illness overtook him in late 1925. On a trip to Paris in 1926 he met up with an old friend and in the middle of a conversation attempted to strangle the man. He sought psychiatric help in both London and Cambridge and was diagnosed with a disorder similar to schizophrenia. After the diagnosis three dependant friends took him on a trip, but on the last night he told his companions that he must return home at once because he had left a poisoned apple on a friend's desk and had to make sure he was all right. After he had  stabilized himself, Oppenheimer went on another trip to Gottingen. While there he met a woman named Charlotte Riefenstahl (also studying physics) whom he sat next to on a train. She paid compliment to his leather luggage grip, and later (as had been secretly predicted by a third companion), Oppenheimer offered Charlotte the bag as a gift. It was one of Oppenheimer's peculiarities, to give as a gift an object of his which was admired. His relationship with Charlotte was quite intense for a time, but it began to dwindle when Charlotte didn't live up to his exacting expectations. Oppenheimer's brother Frank later said that "he wanted everyone and everything to be special" (Goodchild, 1980, p.24) which was an apt observation. Oppenheimer compared potential friends and lovers to his preconceived ideals. As a result he had a very exclusive group of friends who found him charming, and those who didn't fit into his life thought of him as an arrogant snob.

Despite their Jewish heritage, Oppenheimer's parents sent him to a school run by the New York Society for Ethical Culture. The school's founder, Felix Adler, was a strong believer in the sovereignty of the individual. He taught that "man should form his own attitudes towards the unknown" (Goodchild, 1980, p.12). The young Oppenheimer was happiest when learning. At the age of twelve he was able to challenge a cousin to "ask me a question and I will answer in Greek" (Goodchild, 1980, p.12). Dedicated individuals such as his Chemistry tutor, Augustus Klock, devoted much time to Robert. Klock spent one entire holiday setting up a small laboratory.  He graduated from high school with straight A's, but was forced to postpone an education at Harvard because of a battle with Colitis which he developed after a mineralogical field trip to the German Harz mountains. When he finally attended Harvard at the age of eighteen he had the intention of majoring in Chemistry after brief thoughts of architecture, classical scholastics, poetry and painting. He crammed a four year program into three by working himself mercilessly. After graduating from Harvard he worked for J. J. Thomas who would soon determine the mass and penetrating power of electrons. Oppenheimer was no good at the job, and became extremely depressed from the combination of loneliness, homesickness and the realization of his personal limits. Close friends feared he would commit suicide around Christmas of 1925, and he later admitted that he had considered "bumping myself off" (Goodchild, 1980, p.21)

On a trip to Germany at the age of five his grandfather gave him a small collection of minerals which sparked a passion for mineralogy. At the age of 11 he was elected to the New York Mineralogical Club where he delivered his first paper a year later. The men and women assembled for his lecture were expecting an adult, and were astounded to see a scrawny twelve year old take the podium. When he was done, Oppenheimer received a standing ovation from the crowd. Towards the end of his undergraduate chemistry course his friends began to speculate that he would give up chemistry and turn to writing, but then he began to attend a class on advanced thermodynamics taught by the distinguished experimental physicist Percy Bridgeman. Physics appealed to the relatively untapped philosophical side of Oppenheimer. Bridgeman and Oppenheimer would later form a friendship of mutual respect.
  Oppenheimer made a point of only making friends with those he considered his near intellectual equals. Paul Dirac who later one the Nobel Prize was one of his friends. Their conversations almost always centred on physics. Dirac was astounded with Oppenheimer's devotion to poetry; he had learned Italian for the purpose of reading Dante in the original. Dirac was moved to say "In physics we try to tell people things in such a way that they understand something that nobody knew before. In the case of poetry it's the exact opposite" (Goodchild, 1980, p.21). Dirac was astonished that Oppenheimer was able to excel in such polar fields.
  Other individuals who influenced Oppenheimer's work and with whom he maintained a friendship were Ernest Rutherford, J. J. Thompson, Ernest Lawrence, Felix Bloche, John van Vleck, Enrico Fermi, Colonel Leslie R. Groves, Albert Einstein, Edward Mead Earle, John van Newmann, George F. Kennan, Arnold Toynbee, T. S. Eliot, and Neils Bohr. These individuals had backgrounds in Physics, Mathematics, Army Strategics, History and Poetry. There diversity attests to Oppenheimer's brilliance in all subject matters.

  Oppenheimer lived during W.W.I and the Great Depression. His profound effect on W.W.II, does not permit one to skim briefly over his importance. Oppenheimer's role in the Atomic Bomb project will be discussed in depth later in this page.
  The first World War had an effect on Oppenheimer chiefly because he had Jewish relatives living in Germany. Beyond this, there is little to suggest that the war greatly influenced the young man. In regards to the Great Depression an interesting story is told. Oppenheimer was unaware of the stock market crash until six months after the event. It is true that a fortunate family situation padded the young man from harsh realities of the time, but that such a devastating blow to North America's economy could pass unnoticed is proof that Oppenheimer was completely unconscious of his social surroundings. Oppenheimer explains the situation this way: "My friends... were mostly faculty people, scientists, classicists, and artists. I read very widely,... and I read something of other parts of science. I was not interested in and did not read about economics or politics. I was almost wholly divorced from the contemporary scene in this country. I was deeply interested in my science; but I had no understanding of the relations of man to his society." (Goodchild, 1980, p.46)
  Later in his life, World War II became a reality when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour. Einstein had written a letter to President Roosevelt warning that the Americans had better research Atomic Bombs before the Germans beat them to the technology. Colonel Leslie R. Groves was placed in charge of the project. From a long list of prominent candidates, Groves selected Oppenheimer to head a team of the most intelligent physicists of the free world who would design the deadliest bomb ever created.

J. Robert Oppenheimer has been referred to as "The father of the Atomic Bomb". Originally Oppenheimer was chosen to head the team of physicists working on the project, and he played a key role in solving theoretical problems of the bomb. For example, early on it was feared that an atomic bomb could ignite the atmosphere and the ocean, thereby destroying the world. Oppenheimer predicted that such would not be the case, and his careful calculations proved his belief. The basic problem presented to the physicists was how to explode every atom in a lump of Uranium. Again, it was Oppenheimer who determined the critical mass required to sustain a chain reaction. In Los Alamos, the New Mexico town taken over by scientists and military personnel, Oppenheimer became the "mayor" who would stroll about making sure that his "guests" were comfortable. At 5.30 hers on July 16 1945 no one was more pleased with the success of the first ever atomic bomb than J. Robert Oppenheimer.
The Atomic Bomb made Oppenheimer famous the world over, but there is much more to the complicated character. He taught himself Sanskrit just for the intellectual value, he learned Italian so he could read Dante in it's original form. He was a brilliant individual who could not satisfy his hunger for knowledge. He was able to inspire individuals of other professions through conversations revolving around their area of expertise, and always Oppenheimer was able to speak knowledgeably.
As predicted by his Harvard professor Percy Bridgeman J. Robert Oppenheimer shook up the physics and the world. (Kugelmass, J. Alvin. J. Robert Oppenheimer. U.S: Copp Clark Company, Ltd, 1953)

1931-The atom is split
1932-The neutron is discovered
1934-Artificial radioactivity is discovered by bombarding a target with alpha particles
        -Enrico Fermi bombards Uranium with neutrons. Several radioactive elements produced
1938-Fermi's phenomenon began to be recognized as Atomic Fission
1939-Recognized that energy is given off from Fission. The chain reaction is explored.
        -Leo Szilard confirms that neutrons are given off and a chain reaction likely to ensue.
        -The chain reaction is confirmed

" That boy will shake up either physics or the world" - Percy Brighton (Kugelmass, 1953, p. 42)

"In college three years as an undergraduate" - Oppenheimer's Harvard Yearbook quote (Goodchild, 1980, p.16)

"I am the loneliest man in the world" - Oppenheimer at the time of his mother's death (Goodchild, 1980, p.18)

"since we couldn't understand what he was saying we watched the cigarette. We were always expecting him to write on the board with it and smoke the chalk, but I don't think he ever did" - one of Oppenheimer's early students talks of the experience. (Goodchild, 1980, p.25)

"I was interested in man and his experience, but I had no understanding of the relations of man to his society" - Oppenheimer (Goodchild, 1980, p.32)

"I set forth my anxieties and the arguments... against dropping (the bomb)... but I did not endorse them" - Oppenheimer recalls his attitude towards the bombing of Japan. (Goodchild, 1980, p.14)

"I became death, the shatterer of worlds" Oppenheimer's reflection at Los Alamos (Goodchild, 1980, p. 162)

"Oppy, now we're all sons of bitches" -Ken Bainbridge after Los Alamos (Goodchild, 1980, p. 162

"The physicists have known sin, and this is a knowledge which they cannot use" -Oppenheimer (Goodchild, 1980, p. 174

"Mr. President, I have blood on my hands" -Oppenheimer to Truman (Goodchild, 1980, p.180)

"I find that physics and the teaching of physics, which is my life, now seems irrelevant" Oppenheimer (Goodchild, 1980, p. 182)

http://muse2.msfc.nasa.gov/julius.html
http://www.labri.u-bordeaux.fr/Equipe/CombAlg/membre/loeb/tree/julius.html
http://www.glue.umd.edu/~enola/dvel/oppie.html
http://www.rjgeib.com/thoughts/shiva/shiva.html
http://www.af.mil/news/features/features95/f_950630-085_95jun30.html
http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/Museum/opp.html

Bibliography

 Goodchild, Peter.  J. Robert Oppenheimer, "Shatterer of Worlds". London, England: BBC, 1980.
 Groueff, Stephane.  Manhattan Project. U.S.: Little, Brown Company, 1967
 Kugelmass, J. Alvin. J. Robert Oppenheimer. U.S.: Copp Clark Company, Ltd, 1953
http://muse2.msfc.nasa.gov/julius.html
http://www.af.mil/news/features/features95/f_950630-085_95jun30.html
http://www.glue.umd.edu/~enola/dvel/oppie.html
http://www.labri.u-bordeaux.fr/Equipe/CombAlg/membre/loeb/tree/julius.html
http://www.rjgeib.com/thoughts/shiva/shiva.html
http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/Museum/opp.html