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Nuclear Weapons Progress Timeline

  • Discovery of Natural Radioactivity

    Discovered by Alt Becquerel
  • Discovery of Electrons

    Discovery of Electrons
    Discovered by JJ Thompson
  • Discovery of the Nucleus

    Discovery of the Nucleus
    Discovered by Ernest Rutherford
  • WWI begins

  • Einstein Publishes Theory of Relativity

  • Civil Defense Formed

    A US council on nuclear strageties
  • US enters WWI

  • Discovery of Fission

  • Discovery of the Proton

    Discovery of the Proton
    Discovered by Ernest Rutherford
  • World War I ends

  • Discovery of Neutrons

    Discovery of Neutrons
    Discovered by James Chadwick
  • Fermi wins Nobel Prize

  • Letter to Roosevelt

    Written by Einstein to warn Roosevelt about nuclear weapons
  • WWII begins

  • Roosevelt speaks at the Pan American Conference

    Roosevelt speaks at the Pan American Conference
  • Discovery of Plutonium

    Discovery of Plutonium
    Discovered by Glenn T Seaburg
  • Pearl Harbour

    Pearl Harbour
    Japan attacks US starts war
  • US enters WWII

  • First Sustained/Controlled Nuclear Reaction

    Done by Enrico Fermi
  • Beginning of Manhattan Project

  • V-Day

  • WWII ends

  • D-Day

    Date of the Invasion of Europe
  • Plowshare

  • Trinity

    Trinity
    21 kilotons
  • Nagasaki

    Nagasaki
    Second City of Japan nuked, 21 kilotons
  • VJ-Day

  • Hiroshima

    Hiroshima
    First city nuked in Japan killed 70000. was 15 kilotons
  • Nuclear Energy Commission Begins

    AEC created
  • Able

    23 Kilotons
  • Baker

    20 Kilotons and was tested underwater
  • Yoke

    41 kilotons
  • X-Ray

    37 kilotons
  • Klaus Fuchs leaks information to USSR

  • First Russian Bomb

  • Ranger-Able

    1 kiloton
  • Greenhouse Easy

    47 kilotons
  • Greenhouse Item

    45.5 kilotons
  • First Nuclear Test for Britian

  • Ivey Mike

    Ivey Mike
    10 Megatons
  • Upshot-Knothole-Grable

    15 kilotons
  • Upshot-Knothole-Encore

    27 kilotons
  • Atoms For Peace

    Speech U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower gives to the UN General Assembly in New York City
  • Greenhouse George

    11 kilotons
  • Teak

    3.8 megatons
  • Cactus

    18 Kilotons
  • University of Florida build Research Reactor

  • First Nuclear Test for France

  • Tsar Bomba

    Tsar Bomba
    50 megatons
  • Last Atmospheric US test

  • Cuban Missile Crisis

    Lasted from October 14-18
  • Limited Test Ban Treaty

  • First Chinese Nuclear Test

  • Nuclear Non-Profliterian Treaty

    opened on july 1
  • Stragetic Arms Limitation Treaty I

  • Outer Space Treaty

    Outer Space Treaty
    adopted by United Nations
  • First Nuclear Test for India

  • The Last Reactor built in the United States

    According to the US Dept. of Energy, the last reactor built was the "River Bend" plant in Louisiana.
  • Stragetic Arms Limitation Treaty II

  • Last Soviet Test

  • Last French Nuclear Test

  • Comprehensive Ban Treaty

    Instituted into force in 2012
  • Last Pakistani Test

  • Last Nuclear Test by India

  • Last US Nuclear Test

  • First Nuclear Test for Pakistan

  • First Nuclear Test for North Korea

  • The Latest Commission for a reactor in the US