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Tuxedo Park

Page 42

by Jennet Conant


  Foster, John, 19

  France, 82, 164, 170

  Franck, James, 53–54

  Fraser, Joseph B., 297

  Freud, Sigmund, 116

  Frisch, Otto, 155–56

  Gaither, Rowan, 261–62, 283, 288, 292

  Gate Lodge (Tuxedo Park), 57

  GCA (ground-controlled approach), 258–61, 263

  GCI (ground-controlled interception) system, 210–11

  GEE system, 199–200, 231, 234

  Geiger counter, 173–76, 191

  General Electric: Bowen and Cockcroft visit U.S., 195

  and cyclotron research, 136, 150

  and D-1 Committee, 169–70, 172, 200

  and fission/atomic research, 247

  Hobart as apprentice at, 63

  Loomis’ acquaintance with scientists at, 39

  and magnetron, 183, 200

  oscillator developed at, 44–45

  and radar research, 195

  and short-wave radio research, 63

  Wembley plant of, 183, 196

  Wood and Loomis visit, 44. See also Coffin, Charles A.

  Germany: banking crisis in, 82

  and Battle of Britain, 179, 181, 187–88, 196–97, 198, 207, 210–11, 217, 222, 223–24, 252

  bombing of, 272

  collapse of, 276

  declaration of war against U.S. by, 252

  fate of scientists in Nazi, 127–28

  and fission/atomic research, 11, 12, 13, 14, 157, 161–62, 242, 246, 247, 249, 268

  Loomis’ trips to, 66, 126

  and Norden bomb sight, 181

  pre–World War II, 82, 126–29, 140

  and radar research, 170

  science and technology development in, 126–27

  U.S. competition with, 11, 12, 13, 242, 246, 247, 249, 268

  U.S. declares war against, 30

  Gilpatric, Mimi Thorne, 92

  Glass, Carter, 83

  Glass House (Tuxedo Park, New York), 117–19, 208, 279–80, 289

  Glass-Steagall Act (1933), 84

  Golden, William, 17, 88, 290

  Goudsmit, S. A., 233

  Great Britain: and ASV radar, 253

  banking crisis in, 82

  and Battle of Britain, 179, 181, 187–88, 196–97, 198, 207, 210–11, 217, 222, 223–24, 252

  and British-American relations, 179–208, 214

  and CXBK radar, 255

  and fission/atomic research, 11, 157

  Loomis receives medal from, 286

  Loomis’ trips to, 172, 183

  and magnetron, 183–87, 201

  MEW system in, 264–65

  radar research in, 170, 171, 172, 183, 187–88, 189, 285

  SCR-584 radar for, 271–72

  U.S. aid for, 217, 224

  Wood and Loomis’ tour of, 49. See also Tizard Mission; specific scientist or project

  Great Depression, 75–79, 80–87, 88–89, 102–7, 138

  Griffin, Bruce, 259

  ground-controlled approach. See GCA

  ground-controlled interception. See GCI

  Groves, Leslie, 273

  Guerlac, Henry, 267–68, 278

  Guggenheim Foundation, 151

  gun-laying radar system, 198, 199, 230–31, 258, 269, 270, 271–72, 294

  Hack, Frederick C., Sr., 297

  Hack, Frederick, Jr., 96

  Hahn, Otto, 155

  Hammond, Paul, 92, 93

  Hanover Trust company, 37

  Hansen, William, 141–42, 158, 177, 203

  Harriman, Averell, 5, 199

  Harrison, George, 194

  Hart, Leslie, 119

  Harvard Law School, 25, 27, 279

  Harvard Medical School, 128–29

  Harvard University: Conant proposes Loomis as trustee of, 138–39

  Conant’s retirement from, 293

  Cruft Laboratory at, 233

  cyclotron research at, 138–39, 146, 152, 201

  Kistiakowsky at, 7, 62

  Loomis as help to, 152

  Loomis’ sons to, 52

  nuclear physics research at, 14. See also Conant, James B.

  Harvey, E. Newton, 50, 53, 71–73, 110, 111, 114, 159

  Harvey, Edith, 110

  Haskins, Caryl, 17, 88, 117, 165, 166, 244, 288, 289

  Haskins Laboratories, 17

  H-bomb, 293

  Henry, Joseph, 105

  Herreshoff, L. Francis, 93, 95

  Herreshoff, Nat, 93

  Hertz, Gustav, 53

  Hertz, Heinrich, 130

  high-frequency sound. See supersonics

  Hill, Archibald Vivian, 180, 183

  Hilton Head Company, 297

  Hilton Head Island (South Carolina), 95–99, 119, 147, 148, 216, 285, 297

  Hiroshima, Japan, 276–77, 297

  Hobart, Alfred Loomis, 122, 123, 215, 280, 281, 283, 294–95

  Hobart, Garret A., III: and brain wave research, 110, 111, 114

  as character in Richards’ novel, 63, 124

  death of, 295

  divorce of, 280, 281, 295

  and early days at MIT Rad Lab, 215

  and Glass House, 118

  Loomis’ relationship with, 64

  and Manette-Loomis relationship, 122, 123, 124, 281

  marriage of, 121

  and move to MIT, 207

  personal and professional background of, 63–64

  personality of, 121, 294

  post–World War II activities of, 294–95

  and radar research, 159, 177–78, 207

  and Richards, 113

  at Tower House, 63, 110, 111, 113, 114

  Hobart, Garret A., IV, 122, 215, 280, 283, 295

  Hobart, Katherine Grey, 121

  Hodges, Courtney H., 287

  Honey Horn plantation (Hilton Head Island), 95–99, 119, 147, 297

  Hoover, Herbert, 75, 77, 81, 82, 163

  Hope-Jones, F., 65–66

  Hopkins, Harry, 163

  House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), 291–92

  Hovey, Chandler, 92–93

  H2X blind bombing radar, 255, 268–69, 270, 272

  Hubbard, John C., 71

  Hudson, Mose, 96

  hydrogen bomb, 291

  hypnosis, 25–26, 112–13, 114, 116

  Industrial Recovery Act, 89

  isolationism: in U.S., 13, 127, 163, 164, 224

  Italian Superpower Corp., 41

  Italy, 252, 268–69

  Japan, 170, 248, 251, 252, 272, 276–77, 284, 296, 297

  Jenkins, Francis, 106–7

  Jewett, Frank, 144, 162, 163, 166, 167, 171, 205–6, 244–45

  Johns Hopkins University, 156. See also Wood, Robert W.

  Johnston, Larry, 261, 263

  Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S., 187, 254, 266

  Joint Committee on New Weapons and Equipment (JCNWE), 254

  Joint Research and Development Board, 285

  Joliot-Curie, Frédéric, 10, 13

  Jung, Carl, 125

  Kelly, Mervin, 195, 196, 201

  Kennecott Copper Company, 150

  Kennedy, Joseph, 240, 293

  Kent, Fred, 85

  Kerr, Donald, 131, 158, 233

  Kevles, Daniel, 56

  Killian, James, 296

  Kistiakowsky, Elaine, 15, 120, 294

  Kistiakowsky, George: Conant’s relationship with, 7, 293

  and fission/atomic research, 161–62, 247

  formaldehyde project of, 62

  and Germany’s efforts to rearm, 126

  at Harvard, 7, 62

  Haskins’ views about, 244

  on Loomis’ contributions, 71

  Loomis’ funding for, 5, 6

  and Manhattan Project, 274, 275

  memoir of, 15, 58, 62, 126

  personal background of, 7

  post–World War II activities of, 294

  at Princeton, 5, 6

  publications of, 52

  and restrictions in Tuxedo Park, 58

  and Ri
chards, 4, 6, 7, 125, 126, 294

  spectroscopy research of, 52, 61, 62

  and Tower House, 4, 5, 6–7, 58, 60–61, 62

  and Tuxedo Park residents’ reactions to Tower House, 62

  and uranium research, 239

  views about Wood of, 61

  Klopsteg, Paul, 32–33, 47, 48

  Knickerbocker, Cholly, 29, 280–81

  Kyoto, Japan, 296

  Lakehurst, New Jersey: Loran test at, 265–66

  Lamont, Thomas, 75

  landing craft control. See LCC

  Land’s End (boat), 113

  Langevin, Paul, 43–44

  Lawrence, Ernest O.: accomplishments and contributions of, 246, 286

  Alvarez as protégé of, 143

  awards and honors for, 139, 152

  and bombing of Japan, 276–77

  as Briggs “temporary personal consultant,” 244

  Bush summons, to Washington, 197

  Bush’s relationship with, 244, 293

  calutron of, 276–77

  Cockcroft’s relationship with, 188

  and color television, 292

  Conant’s relationship with, 293

  cyclotron research of, 14, 134, 135–36, 137–53, 154, 160, 161, 199, 204, 239, 240, 241, 242, 246, 247, 289, 294

  death of, 292

  as director of radar research laboratory, 199

  and early days at MIT Rad Lab, 216, 219

  and Ellen-Loomis relationship, 282

  and events leading to World War II, 140–41

  and fission/atomic research, 162, 240–43, 245, 246–47, 248–49, 251, 291

  as fund raiser, 137–38, 139, 144–46, 147–48, 149–50, 151

  funding for, 14, 173, 241, 247

  and Geiger counter, 174–76

  Harvard offer to, 138–39

  health of, 160, 292

  and launching of MIT Rad Lab, 211

  and Loomis’ accomplishments and contributions, 278, 286

  Loomis’ dinner for, 150–51

  Loomis’ financial support for, 14, 143, 146–47, 173, 241

  Loomis first meets, 133–35, 136–37

  and Loomis as “minister without portfolio,” 250

  and Loomis’ nomination to National Academy of Sciences, 167, 168

  and Loomis’ post–World War II activities, 285

  Loomis’ relationship with, 98, 126, 137, 140, 143, 176, 197, 237, 243, 249–50, 281–82, 288, 289, 291, 292

  and Loran system, 233

  and magnetron, 183, 198, 219–20

  and Manette-Loomis relationship, 281, 282

  and Manhattan Project, 275, 276

  and move from Tuxedo Park to MIT, 208

  and Mrozowski, 146–47

  and naming of MIT laboratory, 213

  and NDRC, 197

  Nobel Prize for, 145, 148

  and Oppenheimer, 291–92

  personal and professional background of, 134

  personality of, 201, 204

  post–World War II activities of, 291–92

  and radar research, 141, 167, 173, 197, 203–4, 217

  and Rand Corporation, 288

  as recruiter, 201–4, 207, 245, 250

  reputation of, 133

  social life of, 150–51

  spectrometer, 242, 246, 249

  Sproul letter of, 223

  and spy detection, 173–74

  and submarine project, 245

  on Time cover, 139

  at Tuxedo Park, 198–99

  and uranium research, 239–40

  and U.S. preparation for World War II, 223

  as visionary, 278

  Lawrence, John S., 92–93, 138, 140–41, 145, 204

  Lawrence, Molly, 142, 281, 282

  Lawson, Jim, 218, 230

  LCC (landing craft control navigation system), 270

  Lescaze, William, 117–19, 120

  Lewis, Frank, 158–59, 177, 178, 207, 211–13

  Lindemann, Charles, 194

  Lippmann, Walter, 224

  Lipton, Sir Thomas, 93, 95

  Livingston, Stanley, 146

  Lodge, Sir Oliver, 66

  long-range navigation system, 198, 199, 231–32. See also Loran system

  Loomis, Alfred Lebbeus, 20–22, 103

  Loomis, Alfred Lee: accomplishments and contributions of, 16–17, 19, 33, 42, 71, 88, 152–53, 277–78, 286, 289

  as Anglophile, 60

  anonymity of, 17, 105–6, 152, 285, 289, 290

  awards and honors for, 245, 286–87

  birth of, 22–23

  as character in Richards’ book, 4

  childhood and youth of, 23–25

  death of, 291

  divorce of, 17, 279–81, 290

  double life of, 5, 17–18, 56–57, 58, 63

  education of, 19, 25–27, 279

  effects of Depression on, 78–79

  family background of, 18, 20–22

  as father, 101–2, 279

  Fortune profile of, 16

  health of, 73, 279

  as “last of the great amateurs,” 289

  as lawyer, 27–29, 263–64

  lightning experiments, 67

  motivation of, 17

  “other sons” of, 64–65, 293

  personality of, 17–19, 20, 40, 58–59, 60, 70, 87, 90, 102, 126, 237, 268, 285–86

  physical appearance of, 18

  post–World War II activities of, 285, 290–91

  “precocity” of, 19–20

  reaction to Richards’ book by, 7–8

  reputation of, 42, 45, 46, 73, 80–81, 86, 90, 91, 103, 104, 106, 165

  “retirement” of, 86–87, 90–91

  Richards’ views about, 5

  social life of, 17, 29, 54, 58, 60

  talents of, 19, 25, 87–88

  as visionary, 278

  wealth of, 5, 13–14, 16–17, 21, 37–38, 42, 57, 77, 87–88, 101, 103, 105

  weddings of, 29, 280–81

  Loomis, Alfred Lee, III (Chip), 20, 296

  Loomis, (Alfred) Lee, Jr., 29, 52, 64, 70–71, 92, 98, 101–2, 111, 113, 208, 216, 279, 280, 295–96

  Loomis, Ellen “Debbie,” 295

  Loomis, Ellen Farnsworth: and brother’s death, 30

  death of, 295

  and Debbie’s death, 295

  divorce of, 280–81, 282

  and Glass House, 120

  health of, 52, 100–1, 122, 123, 129, 279

  at Hilton Head, 216

  Loomis’ attempt to commit, 279–80

  and Loomis at Bonbright, 75

  and Loomis as father, 102

  and Loomis’ honorary degree from Berkeley, 245

  on Loomis’ love of science, 70

  Loomis’ relationship with, 53, 70–71, 99–101, 279–80, 295

  Manette as daughter to, 122

  and Manette-Loomis relationship, 120, 122, 123

  as mother, 64, 70–71

  at parents’ home, 208, 214–15

  social life of, 58, 62

  Stimson letters to and from, 70–71, 74–75, 100, 123

  Twain story of, 62

  wedding and early married life of, 29

  West Coast trip of, 141, 173

  Loomis, F. Wheeler, 229–30

  Loomis Foundation, 60, 103–4

  Loomis, Henry (brother), 24–25

  Loomis, Henry Patterson (father), 22, 23, 27

  Loomis, Henry (son): birth of, 44

  and bombing of Japan, 296

  children of, 296

  education of, 52

  and Ellen-Loomis relationship, 70–71, 279

  financial independence of, 101

  at Harvard, 159

  on Hilton Head Island, 98

  and Loomis’ philanthropy, 103

  Loomis’ relationship with, 101–2, 279, 280

  and Loomis’ scientific experiments, 101–2, 111, 113

  marriages of, 280, 296

  professional career of, 296

  and radar research, 159, 178

>   and St. Vincent’s Island, 295

  and Thorne-Loomis relationship, 88, 92

  Tower House scientists as tutors and friends with, 65

  in World War II, 159, 208, 216, 251–52

  Loomis, Julia Atterbury (sister). See Thorne, Julia Loomis

  Loomis, Julia Stimson (mother), 22, 23, 25, 29, 87

  Loomis Laboratories (Greenwich, Connecticut), 296

  Loomis Laboratory. See Tower House

  Loomis Laboratory (CUNY), 21, 22, 50

  Loomis, Manette Seeldrayers, 64, 119–24, 134, 208, 215, 279–83, 295

  Loomis, (Mary Paul) Paulie, 87, 89, 90, 91, 96, 100, 101, 102, 111, 121, 122, 126, 280, 296

  Loomis, Sabra, 279–80, 296

  Loomis Sanitarium, 21, 103

  Loomis Scientific Institute, 147

  Loomis, (William Farnsworth) Farney, 29, 52, 64, 70–71, 92, 98, 101–2, 111, 208, 216, 279, 280, 295, 296

  Loran (long-range navigation) system, 231–34, 265–67, 272–73, 285n. See also SS Loran system

  Lorillard, Griswold, 58

  Lorillard, Pierre, 4–5, 46, 57–58

  Los Alamos, New Mexico, 250, 273, 284, 292–93

  Lothian, Lord, 180, 181

  Lovett, Robert, 194, 228

  Lowell, A. Lawrence, 6

  LRN system. See Loran (long-range navigation) system

  MacCracken, Henry, 21

  magnetron: and AI research, 211

  and Bell, 194–96, 211

  Boot and Randall, 192–93

  and Bowen’s trip to U.S., 183–87

  equipment for development of, 200

  Lawrence’s doubts about, 219

  and Loomis’ research priorities, 198

  and MEW system, 265

  and MIT Rad Lab research, 213–14, 215, 219

  and move from Tuxedo Park to MIT, 208

  and NDRC, 190

  Rabi’s work on, 213–14, 215, 230

  and radar research, 182–83, 188, 191–93, 194

  six-cavity versus eight-cavity, 195–96

  ten-centimeter, 198, 200, 216–17, 230–31, 236, 252, 269

  three-centimeter, 230, 269

  and Tizard Mission, 182–87

  Maidstone Club (East Hampton, New York), 283

  Manhattan Project, 203–4, 273–75, 276, 284

  Mannes, Leopold, 2–3

  Marconi, Guglielmo, 54, 130

  Mark I project, 262–64

  Mark II ASV radar, 216–17

  Markle Foundation, 150, 151, 152

  Marrison, W. A., 68

  Marshall, George C., 193, 225, 248, 254, 272, 297

  Marshall, Lauriston, 160, 172, 175, 176, 220

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT): Bowen and Cockcroft visit, 195

  Compton selected president of, 105–6

  Corporation of, 105–6, 135, 205, 223, 293

  and cyclotron research, 135–36

  D-1 committee meetings at, 207

  early radar research at, 129, 131, 158–59, 195

  and fission/atomic research, 162

  Henry Loomis at, 296

  Loomis’ funding for, 158

 

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