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| After the war he received his Ph.D. in nuclear physics from ] in 1951.<ref name="Princeton Alumni Weekly 2016 d902">{{cite web | title=David Hill *51 | website=Princeton Alumni Weekly | date=2016-01-21 | url=https://paw.princeton.edu/memorial/david-hill-51 | access-date=2023-07-24}}</ref> He was an assistant professor at ] and then from 1954 to 1958 worked as a theoretical physicist at the ].<ref name="Princeton Alumni Weekly 2016 d902"/><ref name="Nuclear Museum 1942 x684">{{cite web | title=David L. Hill | website=Nuclear Museum | date=1942-12-02 | url=https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/profile/david-l-hill/ | access-date=2023-07-24}}</ref> | After the war he received his Ph.D. in nuclear physics from ] in 1951.<ref name="Princeton Alumni Weekly 2016 d902">{{cite web | title=David Hill *51 | website=Princeton Alumni Weekly | date=2016-01-21 | url=https://paw.princeton.edu/memorial/david-hill-51 | access-date=2023-07-24}}</ref> He was an assistant professor at ] and then from 1954 to 1958 worked as a theoretical physicist at the ].<ref name="Princeton Alumni Weekly 2016 d902"/><ref name="Nuclear Museum 1942 x684">{{cite web | title=David L. Hill | website=Nuclear Museum | date=1942-12-02 | url=https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/profile/david-l-hill/ | access-date=2023-07-24}}</ref> | ||
| In 1959 Hill was chairman of the ]. In that role he testified before the Commerce Committee of the ] to oppose President ]'s nomination of Lewis Strauss as ], saying that "most of the scientists in this country would prefer to see Mr. Strauss completely out of government". Hill accused Strauss of a lack of integrity, an obsessive quest for personal approval, persistent arrogance, and personal vindictiveness.<ref name="U.S. Government Printing Office 1959 |
In 1959 Hill was chairman of the ]. In that role he testified before the Commerce Committee of the ] to oppose President ]'s nomination of Lewis Strauss as ], saying that "most of the scientists in this country would prefer to see Mr. Strauss completely out of government".<ref name="U.S. Government Printing Office 1959 p. 430">{{cite book | title=Nomination of Lewis L. Strauss: Hearings, Eighty-sixth Congress, First Session, on the Nomination of Lewis L. Strauss to be Secretary of Commerce. March 17-18, April 21, 23, 28-30, May 1, 4-8, 11, 13-14, 1959 | publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office | year=1959 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n0a7jG7KlN8C&pg=PA430| access-date=2023-07-24 | pages=733-737}}</ref> Hill accused Strauss of a lack of integrity, an obsessive quest for personal approval, persistent arrogance, and personal vindictiveness.<ref name="U.S. Government Printing Office 1959 pp. 733-737">{{cite book | title=Nomination of Lewis L. Strauss: Hearings, Eighty-sixth Congress, First Session, on the Nomination of Lewis L. Strauss to be Secretary of Commerce. March 17-18, April 21, 23, 28-30, May 1, 4-8, 11, 13-14, 1959 | publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office | year=1959 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n0a7jG7KlN8C&pg=PA733| access-date=2023-07-24 | pages=733-737}}</ref> Among issues cited were Strauss's opposition to the shipping of ] to ] in 1949 and his role in the ] that removed ]'s security clearance. Hill's testimony led to the Senate rejecting Strauss' nomination. This testimony is depicted in the 2023 film '']'' where Hill is portrayed by ]. | ||
| Hill spent the later part of his career working in the private sector, founding research and development companies including Nanosecond Systems Inc., a manufacturer of high-precision measuring equipment, and serving as president of Harbor Research Corp., a patent enforcement and investment company. He had seven children with his wife Mary, who died in 1992.<ref name="Princeton Alumni Weekly 2016 d902"/> | Hill spent the later part of his career working in the private sector, founding research and development companies including Nanosecond Systems Inc., a manufacturer of high-precision measuring equipment, and serving as president of Harbor Research Corp., a patent enforcement and investment company. He had seven children with his wife Mary, who died in 1992.<ref name="Princeton Alumni Weekly 2016 d902"/> | ||
Revision as of 17:18, 25 July 2023
David Lawrence Hill (November 11, 1919 – December 14, 2008) was an American nuclear physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project in World War II and was head of the Federation of American Scientists. He is most known for his 1959 testimony against the nomination of Lewis Strauss as United States Secretary of Commerce.
Hill was born in Booneville, Mississippi. After graduating from the California Institute of Technology in 1942, he joined Enrico Fermi's team at the Metallurgical Laboratory in Chicago, where he remained for the duration of the war. He was one of the team of scientists who built the Chicago Pile, the world's first artificial nuclear reactor. In 1945 he was one of 70 scientists to sign the Szilárd petition asking President Truman to warn the Japanese before the usage of the atomic bomb.
After the war he received his Ph.D. in nuclear physics from Princeton University in 1951. He was an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University and then from 1954 to 1958 worked as a theoretical physicist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
In 1959 Hill was chairman of the Federation of American Scientists. In that role he testified before the Commerce Committee of the United States Senate to oppose President Eisenhower's nomination of Lewis Strauss as Secretary of Commerce, saying that "most of the scientists in this country would prefer to see Mr. Strauss completely out of government". Hill accused Strauss of a lack of integrity, an obsessive quest for personal approval, persistent arrogance, and personal vindictiveness. Among issues cited were Strauss's opposition to the shipping of radioisotopes to Norway in 1949 and his role in the security hearing that removed Robert Oppenheimer's security clearance. Hill's testimony led to the Senate rejecting Strauss' nomination. This testimony is depicted in the 2023 film Oppenheimer where Hill is portrayed by Rami Malek.
Hill spent the later part of his career working in the private sector, founding research and development companies including Nanosecond Systems Inc., a manufacturer of high-precision measuring equipment, and serving as president of Harbor Research Corp., a patent enforcement and investment company. He had seven children with his wife Mary, who died in 1992.
References
- Glenn T. Seaborg (1994). The Plutonium Story: The Journals of Professor Glenn T. Seaborg, 1939–1946. Columbus, Ohio: Battelle. p. 152, note 58. ISBN 9780935470758.
- ^ "David L. Hill". Nuclear Museum. 1942-12-02. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
- ^ "David Hill *51". Princeton Alumni Weekly. 2016-01-21. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
- Nomination of Lewis L. Strauss: Hearings, Eighty-sixth Congress, First Session, on the Nomination of Lewis L. Strauss to be Secretary of Commerce. March 17-18, April 21, 23, 28-30, May 1, 4-8, 11, 13-14, 1959. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1959. pp. 733–737. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
- Nomination of Lewis L. Strauss: Hearings, Eighty-sixth Congress, First Session, on the Nomination of Lewis L. Strauss to be Secretary of Commerce. March 17-18, April 21, 23, 28-30, May 1, 4-8, 11, 13-14, 1959. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1959. pp. 733–737. Retrieved 2023-07-24.