Frank Oppenheimer
Physicist, Organization leader
1912 – 1985
Who was Frank Oppenheimer?
Frank Friedman Oppenheimer was an American particle physicist, cattle rancher, professor of physics at the University of Colorado, and the founder of the Exploratorium in San Francisco.
A younger brother of renowned physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, Frank Oppenheimer conducted research on aspects of nuclear physics during the time of the Manhattan Project, and made contributions to uranium enrichment. After the war, Oppenheimer's earlier involvement with the American Communist Party placed him under scrutiny, and he resigned from his physics position at the University of Minnesota. Oppenheimer was a target of McCarthyism and was blacklisted from finding any physics teaching position in the United States until 1957, when he was allowed to teach science at a high school in Colorado. This rehabilitation allowed him to gain a position at the University of Colorado teaching physics. In 1969, Oppenheimer founded the Exploratorium in San Francisco, and he served as its first director until his death in 1985.
We need you!
Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web!
- Born
- Aug 14, 1912
New York City - Also known as
- Frank Friedman Oppenheimer
- Parents
- Siblings
- Spouses
- Jaquenette Quann
(1936 - )
- Jaquenette Quann
- Nationality
- United States of America
- Profession
- Education
- Johns Hopkins University
- PhD, California Institute of Technology
Physics
( - 1939)
- Lived in
- Sausalito
( - 1985/02/03)
- Sausalito
- Died
- Feb 3, 1985
Sausalito
Submitted
on July 23, 2013
Citation
Use the citation below to add to a bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Frank Oppenheimer." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/frank_oppenheimer>.
Discuss this Frank Oppenheimer biography with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In