While the world has been buzzing about the biographical film on J. Robert Oppenheimer directed by the talented Christopher Nolan, there are lesser-known facts about Oppenheimer’s life that are sure to surprise many.
1. Background
J. Robert Oppenheimer was born in New York, USA, on April 22, 1904. He was the son of first-generation Jewish immigrant parents. His mother, Ella, was an artist, while his father, Julius Seligmann Oppenheimer, was a wealthy textile importer.
2. He was the first to introduce the concept of “black holes”
He was the one who introduced the concept of black holes.
In 1939, in a paper titled “The Continuous Collapse of Gravitational Forces,” Oppenheimer stated that some “dying stars have gravitational forces exceeding their energy production capabilities”, hinting at the existence of black holes in the universe.
This paper was initially overlooked; however, it was later revisited by physicists who recognized Oppenheimer’s foresight and the significance of his ideas in understanding these mysterious celestial entities.
3. Oppenheimer spoke six languages fluently
From a young age, Oppenheimer demonstrated exceptional intelligence. By the age of 9, he was proficient in philosophy as well as Greek and Latin. At 12, he was invited to lecture at the New York Mineralogical Club.
Throughout his development and research, this theoretical physicist was always ready to tackle intellectual challenges. Oppenheimer was known to speak six languages, including Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, French, German, and Dutch (which he learned in just six weeks and was able to lecture on quantum theory at a conference).
Oppenheimer could speak Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, French, German, and Dutch.
4. Oppenheimer had a complex emotional life
Despite being shy and extremely busy with science, Oppenheimer had a rather complicated emotional life. He fell in love with a psychologist named Jean Tatlock when they met in 1936, when Jean was a recent graduate and Oppenheimer was a physics professor at Berkeley.
Despite their deep romantic relationship, Oppenheimer later had an affair with journalist Kitty Harrison, who was married to Dr. Richard Harrison at the time. After Kitty became pregnant, she divorced her husband and married Oppenheimer. Throughout their marriage, Oppenheimer was rumored to have continued affairs with Jean Tatlock as well as another professor and psychologist, Ruth Sherman Tolman, who was married to Richard Chace Tolman—one of the contributors to Oppenheimer’s Manhattan Project.
5. Oppenheimer was nominated for the Nobel Prize three times
Oppenheimer received three nominations for the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1945, 1951, and 1967. Although he was the inventor of the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer never won the prestigious Nobel Prize due to the committee’s refusal to acknowledge breakthroughs in military technology.
Oppenheimer never won the Nobel Prize despite being nominated three times.
6. He passed away from cancer
Known for his smoking habit, Robert Oppenheimer was later diagnosed with throat cancer due to excessive smoking and passed away at his home in New Jersey in 1965 at the age of 62. Oppenheimer’s death marked the end of a remarkable life filled with scientific achievements, intellectual contributions, and a significant impact on the fields of physics and nuclear research.
