Groves leslie biography
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The same day he took formal charge of the Manhattan Engineer District, Groves arranged to buy 1,200 tons of uranium ore and the next day signed a directive to acquire the Clinton, Tennessee, site. Of his appointment Groves said, “entering West Point fulfilled my greatest ambition.” Groves excelled at West Point, graduating fourth in his class in November 1918.
Decided to delay shipment of core.
1947 Jan 1st The US Atomic Energy Commission takes over responsibility for nuclear power and weapons.
1947 Feb 28th Appointed chief of the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project to control the military aspects of nuclear weapons.
1948 Feb 29th Retired from the Army.
19481961 Vice President of Sperry Rand Corporation.
1962 Published memoir of his Manhattan Project work, “Now It Can be Told.
1970 Jul 13th Died in Washington, DC.
His aide, Colonel Kenneth D. Nichols, years later reflected on Groves's tough yet effective personal approach and management style during the war: General Groves is the biggest S.O.B. One possible application involved using uranium to create a nuclear reaction that could be harnessed into a powerful new weapon. Gregory taught enlisted personnel how to prepare for the entrance examination to the U.S.
Military Academy at West Point and influenced Groves’ ambition to attend.
Groves’ determination to succeed is evident in his attempts to gain admission to West Point, which was very competitive. He also completed two tours of duty in Washington, D.C. where he made connections among influential Army leaders, scientists, engineers, contractors, and corporations.
It appears courtesy of the Department of Energy, via Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's web page. On his retirement, Congress authorized Groves’ promotion to permanent major general and honorary lieutenant general on the retired list.
After his Army retirement, Groves served as vice president of research and development at Remington Rand until 1961.
Known as the Manhattan Project, it brought together over 100,000 people, cost more than $2.2 billion, and was spread out over 30 locations across the United States. In retirement he published a book about the Manhattan Project and in February 1970 was awarded the Atomic Pioneer Award by President Richard M. Nixon. The project’s success is in large part attributed to Groves, whose drive and determination pushed the project to completion.
Jennifer Dubina
Museum Educator
Sources
Bernstein, Barton J.
“Reconsidering the ‘Atomic General’: Leslie R. Groves.” The Journal of Military History 67, no. https://www.marshallfoundation.org/library/collection/leslie-r-groves-collection/#!/collection=96.
General Leslie Groves (1896 - 1970)
Leslie Groves was born in Albany, New York, on August 17, 1896.
The war required construction of new training facilities and barracks for thousands of new recruits. A theoretical physicist rather than an experimental one, with no administrative background, Oppenheimer was an unlikely choice to win Groves's trust to head the laboratory. During his senior year of high school in 1915, he enrolled in the University of Washington in an attempt to stand out.
One of his most noted tasks in this period was supervising the construction of the Pentagon--a tremendous engineering and administrative effort. He took part in construction projects in Hawaii, Texas, New Jersey, and Delaware. He was in charge of all phases of the project - scientific, production, security and planning for use of the bomb.