J. Robert Oppenheimer: A Brief Overview

J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904–1967) was an influential American physicist best known for leading the Manhattan Project, which developed the first nuclear weapons during World War II. After the war, he became a prominent voice on the ethical implications of atomic science and the need for international arms control.

10 Memorable J. Robert Oppenheimer Quotes

1.  “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”
2. “There are no secrets about the world of nature. There are secrets about the thoughts and intentions of men.”
3. “In some crude sense which no vulgarity can quite extinguish, the physicists have known sin.”
4. “The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears it is true.”
5. “No man should escape our universities without knowing how little he knows.”
6. “Both the man of science and the man of action live always at the edge of mystery.”
7. “Science is not everything, but science is very beautiful.”
8. “When you see something that is technically sweet, you go ahead and do it and argue about what to do about it only after you have had your technical success.”
9. “We knew the world would not be the same.”
10. “Knowledge cannot be pursued without morality.”

Final Thoughts

J. Robert Oppenheimer’s legacy continues to provoke important questions about scientific progress and ethical responsibility — questions that remain as relevant today as ever.