McClenahan: Women Played Vital Roles In Manhattan Project From Scientists To Technicians To Moms
Los Alamos Historical Society
The public and even some historians often have a romantic view of the Manhattan Project: A few brilliant scientists with thick glasses, dressed in white coats, working feverishly, yet often alone in laboratories where a few “eureka” moments led to the development of the world’s first atomic bombs. The real story is much more complex, involving more people and more programs than most history books share.
Alex Wellerstein, a historian of the Manhattan Project and nuclear secrecy, working at the Stevens Institute of Technology, estimates that more than 600,000 people were employed on some aspect of the project from its inception in 1941 until it officially shut down Dec. 31, 1946.