Scope and Content Note
The papers of Julius Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967) span the years 1921-1980, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1947-1967, the years during which Oppenheimer was director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. The collection comprises Oppenheimer's personal papers and relates only incidentally to his directorship of the institute. The papers consist chiefly of correspondence, desk books, printed copies of Oppenheimer's lectures, statements, and scientific notes, supplemented by memoranda, inventories, photographs, and newspaper clippings.
There was no major rearrangement of these papers; Oppenheimer's own filing arrangement and cross-reference system were used wherever possible. He once described the papers as a “hideously complete archive,” and they document the many facets of his career. The collection includes material on theoretical physics, the development of the atomic bomb, the relationship between government and science, the organization of research on atomic energy, control of atomic energy and its role in international affairs, security in scientific fields, secrecy, loyalty, disarmament, the education of scientists and international intellectual exchange, the moral responsibility of the scientist, the relationship between science and culture, and the public understanding of science.
Material in the collection prior to 1941 comprises two small groups of scientific papers consisting chiefly of reprints of Oppenheimer's early scientific writings with galley proofs, holograph manuscripts by associates, and miscellaneous notes. Correspondence containing scientific calculations was written by such prominent physicists as Hans A. Bethe, Shuichi Kusaka, Wolfgang Pauli, Julian Schwinger, and Edward Teller. Oppenheimer's writings for the early years, during which he established his reputation as a theoretical physicist, is filed in the first section of the Speech, Lecture, and Writing File. An annotated list of these early writings is also included.
Documentation of Oppenheimer's wartime contributions, including his organization and direction of the Los Alamos project, is centered in the General Case File and the Government File and includes material from such figures as Hans A. Bethe, Raymond T. Birge, Vannevar Bush, Arthur H. Compton, James B. Conant, Leslie R. Groves, Ernest O. Lawrence, John H. Manley, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Robert Serber, and John Wheeler. In the Government File Supplement is formerly classified material transferred to the Library from the Atomic Energy Commission chiefly concerning the technical and administrative problems of atomic development from 1941 to 1953. Scattered throughout the collection are letters of reminiscence and Oppenheimer's comments on histories of the Los Alamos project which reflect the spirit and friendships developed during that period.
At the end of World War II, during Oppenheimer's activities as one of the chief governmental advisers on atomic questions, he served on almost every committee, both civilian and military, that dealt with the problems of atomic energy. There is a considerable amount of correspondence documenting these activities, but little material pertaining to his chairmanship of the Atomic Energy Commission's General Advisory Committee and the Committee on Atomic Energy of the Research and Development Board. The gap in this documentation is covered in part by lists and correspondence in the Security Case File. The Membership File contains references to activities of such scientific organizations as the Federation of American Scientists, the National Academy of Sciences, and various associations of atomic scientists. These files also contain information on other professional organizations, including the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and the reevaluation by universities of the growing role of science and government within their own operations.
The control of atomic energy and its role in international affairs is a major theme in these papers. Closely associated with these subjects is Niels Bohr, a Danish physicist, whose letters and memoranda to Felix Frankfurter filed under Frankfurter's name in the General Case File relate to the idea of an open world patterned after the community of scientists. This correspondence, given to Oppenheimer by Frankfurter, is supplemented by the many letters exchanged between Oppenheimer and Bohr, numerous notes, manuscript drafts, and biographical data amassed by Oppenheimer for his lectures on “ Neils Bohr and His Time.”
Oppenheimer's hearing before the Personnel Security Board of the Atomic Energy Commission drew worldwide attention and is documented in extraordinary detail. The Security Case File includes numerous drafts of biographical and autobiographical statements prepared by Oppenheimer and his wife, Katherine, for his defense. There are a few notes taken during the hearings as well as correspondence with his lawyers, Herbert Marks and Lloyd K. Garrison. Much of the correspondence, including letters from many prominent people, and various published articles reflect public attitudes. The documentation also includes voluminous newspaper clippings and printed transcripts of the proceedings.
Although there is no official material for Oppenheimer's directorship of the Institute for Advanced Study, the Personal File contains related items on his appointment and resignation and the various literary, historical, and legal studies conducted during his tenure. Letters in the General Case File between Oppenheimer and Julian Boyd, Harold Cherniss, Herbert Feis, and George Kennan delineate relationships within the academic community, and Oppenheimer's correspondence with his secretaries from 1948 to 1966 provides further insight on both the man and the institute.
Following the revocation of his security clearance in 1954, Oppenheimer traveled widely and lectured on physics and the interrelationship of science and culture. The Speech, Lecture, and Writing File reflects this activity with notes, drafts, and printed copies of his talks and an index of titles and places of delivery. The papers also document Oppenheimer's participation in the Seven Springs Farm Conference held at Mt. Kisco, New York, in 1963.
Oppenheimer planned to write a history of theoretical physics in the twentieth century, whose leading practitioners were virtually all among his principal correspondents. Prominent scientists not previously mentioned include Felix Bloch, Max Born, Robert F. Christy, John D. Cockcroft, Paul A. M. Dirac, Enrico Fermi, T. D. (Tsung Dao) Lee, Abraham Pais, R. E. Peierls, Linus Pauling, Emilio Segrè, Leo Szilard, Yang Chen Ning, and Hideki Yukawa.
The arts and humanities are also well represented in the collection. The General Case File contains folders of material from such persons as Pablo Casals, T. S. Eliot, Wallace K. Harrison, Julian Huxley, Archibald MacLeish, Nicolas Nabokov, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bertrand Russell, Albert Schweitzer, and Norman Thomas. The Membership File, particularly for the Twentieth Century Fund and UNESCO, reflects some of the international issues in the humanities with which Oppenheimer was involved.
Addition I primarily contains a small group of originals and copies of correspondence from Oppenheimer to family, friends, and professional colleagues. There are also miscellaneous files composed of printed and near-print matter, photographs, writings by others, and one reel of negative microfilm containing “A History of the Institute for Advanced Study, 1930-1950,” written by Beatrice M. Stern in 1964.
Addition II contains inventories of classified documents from the Department of the Navy, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Department of State, and the Research and Development Board. It also contains miscellaneous correspondence received from the general public.
Addition III contains copies of former Los Alamos chemist Inez O'Brien's service records, a speech given by Oppenheimer, and correspondence.