Robert Oppenheimer is often referred to as the ‘father of the atomic bomb’. He was a theoretical physicist who worked at institutions such as the University of California, Berkeley and Princeton University. Oppenheimer was also director of the Los Alamos Laboratory where the atomic bomb was developed.

Robert Oppenheimer was born Julius Robert Oppenheimer was born in New York City on April 22^nd 1904. Following graduation from Harvard University Oppenheimer moved to England in 1925 to Study at Cambridge University. A year later he moved to the University of Göttingen in Germany where he was awarded a PhD in 1927 at the age of 23. He was appointed Associate Professor at the University of California, Berkeley in 1929 where he taught until 1942.

The growth in popularity of the National Socialist Party (Nazi Party) in Germany and Hitler’s rise to power had a major influence on Oppenheimer. It led him to support resistance movements and he became associated with left wing politics. He supported the letter sent by Einstein and others to President Roosevelt at the beginning of World War II which indicated that the Nazi’s had the capability to develop a nuclear bomb. Roosevelt established the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos, New Mexico and Oppenheimer was appointed scientific director of the project in 1942.

On July 16th 1945 the first atomic bomb was successfully exploded in New Mexico. Within a month a further two atomic bombs were exploded, one in Nagasaki, Japan, and the other in Hiroshima, effectively ending World War II.

Oppenheimer refused to support the development of the hydrogen bomb in 1949 because of his regrets at the mass destruction caused by the atomic bomb. He was accused of having communist sympathies because of his previous association with left wing politics and he resigned from his post. He was appointed Director of the Institute of Advanced Study at Princeton University where he remained until 1966.

Robert Oppenheimer, a theoretical physicist who is referred to as the ‘father of the atomic bomb’, died aged 62 in the year 1967 On This Day.

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LeVar Burton is an award-winning American actor who was born in Germany. He is best known for his role as Lt Commander Geordi La Forge in ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’. He first achieved fame at the age of twenty, playing the part of Kunta Kinte in the 1977 television series ‘Roots’. Burton was also the host of the long-running children’s television series ‘Reading Rainbow’.

LeVar Burton was born Levardis Robert Martyn Burton in Landstuhl, Germany in 1957. His parents were stationed with the US Army in Germany at the time. He grew up in Sacramento, California and graduated from the School of Theatre at the University of Southern California. In 1977 he made his acting debut as Kunta Kinte in the drama series ‘Roots’. The winner of numerous awards, Burton went on to have a successful career as an actor, presenter, director and author.

LeVar Burton, award-winning actor who starred as Kunta Kinte in ‘Roots’ and as Lt Commander Geordi La Forge in ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ was born in the year 1957 On This Day.

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LeVar Burton

ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was the world’s first electronic general-purpose computer. It was designed and built for military purposes by the United States army. ENIAC was first introduced to the public in 1946.

ENIAC weighed 27 tonnes (30 tons) and covered an area of 167 square meters (1,800 square feet). However it could only execute 5,000 instructions per second. The modern iPhone is capable of performing 25 billion instructions per second. ENIAC was switched off on October 2^nd 1955.

ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer), the world’s first electronic general-purpose computer, was unveiled at the University of Pennsylvania in the year 1946 On This Day.

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ENIAC

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ENIAC Tubes

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YouTube is the largest video hosting website in the world. Founded in February 2005 it has its headquarters in San Bruno, California, USA. Since its foundation the site has grown rapidly. You Tube is now owned by Google.

YouTube was created by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim, who were employees of the online payments system, PayPal. In April 2005, ‘Me at the Zoo’ was the first video uploaded to You Tube. By December 2005 the site was being viewed over 8 million times per day. Twelve years later one billion hours of You Tube content were being viewed daily.

YouTube, the largest video hosting website in the world, was founded in the year 2005 On This Day.

Waylon Jennings was a musician, singer and songwriter who was a native of the USA. His genres included country, outlaw country rockabilly and country rock. The recipient of many awards and honours, Jennings became one of the best-known artists in country music.

Waylon Jennings was born Waylon Arnold Jennings in Littlefield, Texas on June 15^th 1937. Interested in music from a young age, he was playing in a band and working as a radio DJ by the age of 12. In 1965 he had his first hit with ‘Stop the World (And Let Me Off)’. His music evolved over the years and he went on to have a successful recording career.

From 1985 to 1995 Jennings was a member of ‘The Highwaymen’, a country group which included Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and Johnny Cash. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001. Jennings was the composer and singer of the theme song for the comedy television series ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’. He was also a narrator for the show.

Waylon Jennings, award winning musician, singer and songwriter, died aged 64 in the year 2002 On This Day.

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Waylon Jennings