Bohr, Niels

Bohr, Niels (1885–1962),Danish physicist and 1922 Nobel Prize winner in physics who dominated nuclear research during the first three decades of the 20th century. Many of his fellow scientists rated him second only to Albert Einstein (1879–1955). As a Jew he was in constant danger of being arrested and in September 1943 he escaped to Sweden before a round-up of Danish Jews by the Gestapo began. His appeal to King Gustav to give sanctuary to all Danish Jews was successful and many reached the safety of Sweden. Bohr subsequently worked in the USA as an adviser on developing the atomic bomb. In 1944 he sought to persuade Roosevelt and Churchill of the need to avoid a post-war arms race by internationalizing the control of atomic weapons. This could only be achieved, he argued, by inviting the USSR to participate in post-war atomic energy planning before the bomb was an actuality and before the war ended. A modified version of his approach was adopted by Henry Stimson in 1945, but after Churchill met Bohr he became convinced that he was a security risk and the Dane was put under close surveillance. But Bohr was not advocating that any nuclear secrets be shared with the USSR and when Einstein considered doing just that Bohr ‘convinced him of the perils of stepping out of line’ ( R. Clark, The Greatest Power on Earth, London, 1980, p. 179). See also scientists at war.

Bibliography

Moore, R. , Niels Bohr: The man and the Scientist (London, 1967).