THE FACTS -- NUCLEAR WEAPONS TIMELINE

THE FACTS -- NUCLEAR WEAPONS TIMELINE

 

1940s

August 1942	Manhattan Project established in US	The US sets up the Manhattan Project to develop the first nuclear weapon. It eventually employs more than 130,000 people and costs US$2 billion ($25 billion in 2012 dollars).
16 July 1945	US conducts first ever nuclear test	The US government tests its first nuclear weapon, code-named “Trinity”, in New Mexico. Its yield equals 20,000 tonnes of TNT. The date of the test marks the beginning of the nuclear age.
6 August 1945	US drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima	The US detonates a uranium bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima, killing more than 140,000 people within months. Many more later die from radiation-related illnesses.
9 August 1945	A second bomb is dropped on Nagasaki	The US explodes a plutonium bomb over Nagasaki. An estimated 74,000 people die by the end of 1945. Little can be done to ease the suffering of the victims who survive the blast.
24 January 1946	UN calls for elimination of atomic weapons	In its first resolution, the UN General Assembly calls for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons and sets up a commission to deal with the problem of the atomic discovery.
29 August 1949	Soviet Union tests its first nuclear bomb	The Soviet Union explodes a nuclear weapon code-named “First Lightning” in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan. It becomes the second nation to develop and successfully test a nuclear device.

1950s

3 October 1952	UK tests nuclear weapon in Australia	The UK conducts its first nuclear test at Montebello Islands off the coast of Western Australia. It later conducts a series of tests at Maralinga and Emu Fields in South Australia.
1 November 1952	US tests the first hydrogen bomb	The US raises the stakes in the nuclear arms race by detonating the first hydrogen bomb at Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands. It is 500 times more powerful than the Nagasaki bomb.
1 March 1954	US conducts massive “Bravo” test	The US detonates a 17-megaton hydrogen bomb, “Bravo”, at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, contaminating a Japanese fishing boat, Lucky Dragon, and residents of Rongelap and Utirik.
9 July 1955	Russell–Einstein manifesto issued	Bertrand Russell, Albert Einstein and other leading scientists issue a manifesto warning of the dangers of nuclear war and urging all governments to resolve disputes peacefully.