425:
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329:, Laurence "struggled academically and financially" throughout his studies; according to biographer Vincent Kiernan, his institutional records contained "multiple complaints that he failed to repay loans from the university and individuals," while "holds on his account repeatedly interrupted his studies." Following a September 1915 skirmish with roommate
360:(which he seldom emphasized in press accounts) in 1925. That same year, Laurence was "caught trying to take an examination in elementary German for a Harvard College student whom Laurence had been tutoring"; while he would aggressively lobby for the retroactive conferral of his Harvard degree and membership in the
572:
US military encouraged the journalist
William L. Laurence of The New York Times to write articles dismissing the reports of radiation sickness as part of Japanese efforts to undermine American morale. Laurence, who was also being paid by the US War Department, wrote the articles the US military
477:, and motivated Vernadsky to urge Soviet authorities to embark on their own atomic program, and established one of the first commissions to formulate "a plan of measures which it would be necessary to realize in connection with the possibility of using intraatomic energy". A
591:, who initially showed Laurence around the Los Alamos site, mentioned Laurence standing next to him during the Trinity test. Feynman stated, "I had been the one who was supposed to have taken him around. Then it was found that it was too technical for him, and so later
539:
in July 1945, and beforehand prepared statements to be delivered in case the test ended in a disaster which killed those involved. As part of his work related to the
Project, he also interviewed the airmen who flew on the mission to drop the atomic bomb on the city of
333:, Laurence was found guilty of assault and battery before being "released without having to spend any time in jail." A subsequent May 1917 graduation attempt was thwarted due to another block on his account from residual debt. (Laurence maintained in a later
595:
came and I showed him around." Nuclear historian Alex
Wellerstein has called Laurence "part huckster, part journalist, all wild card ... improbable in every way, a real-life character with more strangeness than would seem tolerable in pure fiction."
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between 1937 and 1948 (claiming that he only took the exam amid the threat of suicide from the student while soliciting assistance at various junctures from
Harvard College Dean Wilbur J. Bender, Harvard Board of Overseers member
270:. Even though he had seen the effects first-hand, he had been on the War Department payroll, and was asked by United States military officials to do so in order to discredit earlier reports by independent journalist
1274:
373:), Bender eventually concluded that an exception to the cheating policy would have been inappropriate regardless of his status within the university. A 1955 article about Laurence in the internal
1125:
Hendershot, Cyndy (July 1998). "Darwin and the Atom : Evolution/Devolution
Fantasies in The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Them !, and The Incredible Shrinking Man".
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wanted even though he was aware of the effects of radiation after observing the first atomic bomb test on July 16, 1945, and its effect on local residents and livestock.
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Laurence is one of the first commentators to have compared the atomic bomb to a monster, which helped to create a cultural trope that may have influenced such films as
512:. Lockhart turned the role down and instead recommended Laurence. In the spring of 1945, Groves met with Laurence, then aged 57, and later summoned him to the secret
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680:: "It kept struggling in an elemental fury, like a creature in act of breaking the bonds that held it down" and "a monstrous prehistoric creature."
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ran an article by
Laurence on atomic fission, "The Atom Gives Up". In 1943, government officials asked librarians nationwide to withdraw the issue.
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newsletter asserted that he graduated from
Harvard in 1915, while Laurence claimed to have graduated with honors in four years in a 1970 interview.
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asserted that
Laurence was "willingly complicit in the government’s propaganda project", referring to Laurence's collaboration with the
266:," which became popular in the 1950s. Infamously, he dismissed the destructive effects of radiation sickness as Japanese propaganda in
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he was thereafter referred to as "Atomic Bill", to differentiate him from
William H. Lawrence, a political reporter at the newspaper.
412:, and in 1936, he covered the Harvard Tercenary Conference of Arts and Sciences; he and four other science reporters shared the 1937
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According to this source, " had the unique distinction of riding in the bomber that carried out the
Nagasaki mission." See
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through the 1940s and into the 1950s, and published a book on defense against nuclear war in 1950. In 1951, his book
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For his 1945 coverage of the atomic bomb, beginning with the eyewitness account from Nagasaki, he won a second
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oral history that his degree was not conferred due to his debt and a personality conflict with the dean of
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325:(1908–1911; 1914–1915) and allegedly completed all coursework for an undergraduate degree in
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Though his article had no effect on the U.S. bomb program, it was passed to the Soviet mineralogist
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and specialized when possible in reporting scientific issues. He married Florence Davidow in 1931.
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From the Archives - The New York Times: a collection of 11 nuclear articles by William L. Laurence
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was attempting to develop atomic energy, and had hoped the article would galvanize a U.S. effort.
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Annotated Bibliography for William L. Laurence from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues
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Secrets of Victory: The Office of Censorship and the American Press and Radio in World War II
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by Groves to serve as the official historian of the Manhattan Project.
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1028:"Oppenheimer, Atomic Bill and the Explosive Birth of Science Journalism"
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Atomic Bill: A Journalist's Dangerous Ambition in the Shadow of the Bomb
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Atomic Bill: A Journalist's Dangerous Ambition in the Shadow of the Bomb
298:. He emigrated to the United States in 1905, after participating in the
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Men and Atoms: The Discovery, the Uses, and the Future of Atomic Energy
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We Are Not Helpless: How We Can Defend Ourselves against Atomic Weapons
705:
1160:"How a Star Times Reporter Got Paid by Government Agencies He Covered"
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In this capacity he was also the author of many of the first official
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People associated with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
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to produce articles on the atomic bomb, its production and effects.
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Eschewing a legal career, he began working as a journalist for the
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Stalin and the Bomb: The Soviet Union and Atomic Energy, 1939–1956
531:, including some delivered by the Department of War and President
423:
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508:, to serve as press release writer and official historian of the
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On May 5, 1940, Laurence published a front-page exclusive in the
29:
1001:. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. pp.
553:, which served as a blast instrumentation aircraft, for the
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814:"William Laurence, Ex-Science Writer For The Times, Dies"
630:. That same year, he was appointed science editor of the
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In 1946, he published an account of the Trinity test as
638:. He served in this capacity until he retired in 1964.
458:. He had assembled it in part out of his own fear that
302:, and he soon changed his name, taking "William" after
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Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States
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985:(New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1994): 59–60.
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Operation Crossroads: The Official Pictorial Record
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946:. The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved November 2, 2013.
1096:(W.W. Norton and company, New York, 1997. p. 135)
432:city edition dated August 7, 1945, featuring the
274:, the first reporter on-site after the bombings.
504:approached Jack Lockhart, Assistant Director of
839:Goodman, Amy; Goodman, David (August 5, 2005).
310:, and "Lawrence" after a street he lived on in
262:. He is credited with coining the iconic term "
1201:Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1988.
1056:War stories: reporting in the time of conflict
8:
1142:Dawn Over Zero: The Story of the Atomic Bomb
722:Dawn Over Zero: The Story of the Atomic Bomb
622:In 1956, he was present at the testing of a
535:. He was the only journalist present at the
254:, he was the only journalist to witness the
1144:. Pickle Partners Publishing. p. 238.
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544:, Japan. Laurence himself flew aboard the
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59:. Please do not remove this message until
1315:Naturalized citizens of the United States
1108:"'Atomic Bill' and the Birth of the Bomb"
115:atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
79:Learn how and when to remove this message
1129:. Greencastle (Indiana): SF-TH Inc: 320.
314:(but spelled with a "u" in reference to
55:Relevant discussion may be found on the
851:from the original on September 23, 2020
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792:American propaganda during World War II
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410:National Association of Science Writers
229:(March 7, 1888 – March 19, 1977) was a
1265:Boston University School of Law alumni
981:On this incident, see David Holloway,
914:Kiernan, Vincent (November 15, 2022).
870:Kiernan, Vincent (November 15, 2022).
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1246:, with 18 library catalog records
742:, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1959.
641:He received honorary doctorates from
569:, for the bomb test on July 1, 1946.
7:
1295:Pulitzer Prize for Reporting winners
1158:Broad, William J. (August 9, 2021).
444:on successful attempts in isolating
344:Following additional studies at the
1224:Bio of Laurence at NuclearFiles.org
250:. As the official historian of the
1199:Nuclear Fear: A History of Images.
1106:Wolverton, Mark (August 9, 2017).
25:
1094:Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman
708:, Spain, of complications from a
408:In 1934, Laurence co-founded the
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187:United States (naturalized 1913)
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787:Propaganda in the United States
694:United States Department of War
651:Stevens Institute of Technology
358:Boston University School of Law
1300:The New York Times journalists
580:in 1946. At the office of the
1:
1140:Laurence, William L. (1947).
671:The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
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362:Harvard Club of New York City
1187:Common Courage Press, 2004.
995:Sweeney, Michael S. (2001).
920:. Cornell University Press.
901:"Marquis Biographies Online"
876:. Cornell University Press.
578:Pulitzer Prize for Reporting
473:, a professor of history at
414:Pulitzer Prize for Reporting
401:in 1926. In 1930, he joined
502:Major General Leslie Groves
434:atomic bombing of Hiroshima
236:best known for his work at
143:, Lithuania, Russian Empire
61:conditions to do so are met
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1060:. Hawkhurst: Bunker Hill.
611:warned about the use of a
555:atomic bombing of Nagasaki
479:Soviet atomic bomb project
300:Russian Revolution of 1905
260:atomic bombing of Nagasaki
109:Laurence on the island of
1270:Harvard Law School alumni
1260:American male journalists
1217:October 24, 2016, at the
704:Laurence died in 1977 in
494:The Saturday Evening Post
369:and University President
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1280:Manhattan Project people
1240:William Leonard Laurence
841:"The Hiroshima cover-up"
736:, New York: Knopf, 1951.
724:, New York: Knopf, 1946.
380:He became a naturalized
227:William Leonard Laurence
97:William Leonard Laurence
1179:Keever, Beverly Deepe.
1127:Science Fiction Studies
688:In 2021, the historian
628:Pacific Proving Grounds
448:which were reported in
352:(1921), he received an
1052:Evans, Harold (2003).
587:In his autobiography,
565:aboard the press ship
557:. He visited the test
491:On September 7, 1940,
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346:University of Besançon
312:Roxbury, Massachusetts
290:, a small city in the
514:Los Alamos laboratory
506:The Censorship Office
428:A front page copy of
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388:, he served with the
321:Although he attended
278:Early life and career
1290:People from Salantai
1147:text at Google Books
390:US Army Signal Corps
1244:Library of Congress
1032:www.news-future.com
636:Waldemar Kaempffert
335:Columbia University
304:William Shakespeare
48:of this article is
27:American journalist
1164:The New York Times
779:Nuclear technology
663:Yeshiva University
467:Vladimir Vernadsky
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430:The New York Times
403:The New York Times
350:Harvard Law School
323:Harvard University
316:Friedrich Schiller
306:, "Leonard" after
282:Laurence was born
268:The New York Times
239:The New York Times
234:science journalist
207:The New York Times
1067:978-1-59373-005-5
730:, New York, 1950.
643:Boston University
550:The Great Artiste
510:Manhattan Project
331:Benjamin Stolberg
308:Leonardo da Vinci
252:Manhattan Project
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318:'s Laura).
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256:Trinity test
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154:(1977-03-19)
90:
75:
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1310:1977 deaths
1305:1888 births
944:"Reporting"
613:cobalt bomb
567:Appalachian
486: 1942
446:uranium-235
386:World War I
348:(1919) and
184:Citizenship
168:Nationality
113:before the
69:August 2021
1254:Categories
798:References
767:Journalism
710:blood clot
684:Criticisms
593:H.D. Smyth
518:New Mexico
382:US citizen
375:Times Talk
327:philosophy
264:Atomic Age
219:Atomic Age
133:1888-03-07
46:neutrality
855:April 26,
542:Hiroshima
500:In 1945,
356:from the
296:Lithuania
192:Education
57:talk page
1215:Archived
849:Archived
747:See also
677:Godzilla
561:site at
436:, Japan.
288:Salantai
258:and the
202:Employer
160:Mallorca
141:Salantai
50:disputed
1174:Sources
1037:May 26,
1003:196–198
824:May 26,
753:Portals
706:Majorca
626:at the
171:Russian
162:, Spain
1191:
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924:
880:
659:D.H.L.
527:about
111:Tinian
700:Death
647:Sc.D.
632:Times
605:Times
582:Times
354:LL.B.
1189:ISBN
1062:ISBN
1039:2023
1007:ISBN
969:2009
922:ISBN
878:ISBN
857:2022
826:2008
674:and
559:Able
546:B-29
341:.)
149:Died
123:Born
43:The
1242:at
516:in
286:in
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