Who is Oppenheimer, the real history behind Christopher Nolan’s Movie

During World War II, American theoretical physicist Oppenheimer served as the Los Alamos Laboratory’s director. For his part in coordinating the Manhattan Project, the research and development initiative that produced the first nuclear weapons, he is frequently referred to as the “father of the atomic bomb.”

The brilliant, enigmatic J. Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist who oversaw the Manhattan Project laboratory that created the atomic bomb, has attracted historians and artists alike since the conclusion of World War II. However, much of that intricacy has now been condensed into a single, well recognized image: the wounded genius, haunted by his own invention, reciting a passage from the Bhagavad Gita in an NBC News documentary from 1965.

Oppenheimer’s life, however, was much more than just regret. “[He] was interesting as the father of the bomb,” claims Kai Bird, co-author of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize-winning biography American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer. But the tragedy is what gives the story its true arc.

The first full-length film to cover the scientist’s life in its entirety will be Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which debuts in theaters on July 21. It is expected to be outstanding. It stars Cillian Murphy of “Peaky Blinders” fame in the titular character along with an ensemble A-list cast. Oppenheimer offers a chance to reflect on this captivating, complex man and how past accounts of his life have succeeded—and failed—in understanding one of the most fascinating public characters of the 20th century.

Full Name	Julius Robert Oppenheimer
Birth Date	22 April 1904
Died	18 Feb 1967
Birth Place	New York, United States
Known For	Father of the Atomic Bomb
Annual Salary	$100 (equivalent to 2,188 in 2023)
Awards	Medal for Merit (1946) Enrico Fermi Award (1963)

To help the pioneers of the cyclotron at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory grasp the data their machines were creating, Oppenheimer collaborated closely with Nobel Prize-winning experimental physicist Ernest O. Lawrence.He was elevated to full professor by Berkeley in 1936, earning $3,300 annually (the equivalent of $70,000 in 2022).

Spouse	Katherine Oppenheimer Vissering
Father	Julius S. Oppenheimer
Mother	Ella Friedman
Childrens	Peter Oppenheimer, Katherine Oppenheimer
Brother	Frank

His parents, affluent German textile merchant Julius S. Oppenheimer and artist Ella Friedman, were of Jewish ancestry.

After the death of Oppenheimer’s mother in 1931, he grew closer to his father, who, despite continuing to reside in New York, began to visit California frequently.

Girlfriends

Jean Ttlack (1936) Katherine Puening (Kitty)

To see Tatlock, who was experiencing depression, in June 1943. On January 4, 1944, Tatlock committed suicide, leaving Oppenheimer inconsolable.