Edward Teller ``Father of the H-Bomb'' dies at age 95

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 9/9/03 | AP

[MikalM]

Edward Teller, the man who played a key role in U.S. defense and energy policies for more than half a century and was dubbed the "Father of the H-bomb" for his enthusiastic pursuit of the powerful weapon, died Tuesday, a spokesman for Lawrence Livermore Laboratory confirmed. He was 95.

[Southack]

A true patriot!

[Boot Hill]

A great physicist, a visionary leader, a remarkable American, a truly great man.

May God bless and comfort Edward Teller.

--Boot Hill

[FlyVet]

Teller was asked his opinion of Andropov and I remember with crystal clarity him arching those wire-bush eyebrows and wagging his finger. "Andropov is a deadly serpent from the KGB," he said.

I wonder what he thought of Putin.

[beckett]

I was just listening to Sam Tanenhaus speak about Albert Wolhstetter, Paul Wolfowitz's mentor in the early stages of his career and the father of the small guided missile program that eventually re-wrote the rules of warfare. Tanenhaus claimed that Wolhstetter was the model for Dr. Strangelove in Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, whereas I had always thought it was Edward Teller.

Just as I was contemplating the question, I came across this notice of Teller's death. What are the odds?

I think Tanenhaus is wrong and Teller was Kubrick's model.

[The Westerner]

"Missile defense is for national survival, and it's more important than defense against terrorism." He goes on to advocate boost-phase intercepts — in other words, developing the ability to strike enemy missiles shortly after they're launched. "Whether it would work against a powerful and determined opponent, I don't know," he says. "Today it's the right way to go. I do not see any opponent powerful enough to be effective against a strong determination on our part."

[Nexus]

Without him, the cold war may have been oh so much colder... Thank you, Dr. Teller!

[PhilDragoo]

Airborne or space-based lasers would permit rapid response to multiple launches. With his brilliance and resoluteness as example, we will succeed.

[risk]

http://www.commonwealthclub.org/missiledefense/tellersp.html

[wideminded]

Teller died in Stanford, Calif., near the Hoover Institute where he served as a senior research fellow.

There is no Stanford, California. There is a Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. The Hoover Institute is on the grounds of Stanford University.

[Tony in Hawaii]

Stanford has its own post office, or at least it did when I applied there. I was actually born at Stanford, but that fact didn't cut any ice with their admissions board.

[wideminded]

Looks like you're right. I used to live in Palo Alto and never heard of Stanford, California. It's not listed on Mapquest as a California city. My son was born at Stanford University Hospital, which at that time was in Palo Alto, California. But on the Stanford website, I find this:

What is Stanford's address?

The primary address for Stanford is
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305

Maybe Stanford, CA was invented after I left.

[Tony in Hawaii]

Yep, I'll bet the "town" of Stanford consists entirely of the university campus.

I was born at the University Hospital in 1961 and lived in Los Altos Hills until I was 9. I'll bet that house is worth a couple million dollars these days.

[BOBTHENAILER]

Over the next several years, Teller threw himself into technical debates over how best to build a missile-defense system. His identification with SDI was so complete, in fact, that many of his old foes allowed it to color their views of this new project.

Thanks for the Ping.

Teller has long been a hero of mine.

[Physicist]

Edward Teller was a great scientist, a great American, a great man. We won't see many more like him. We were damned lucky that we had him when we needed him most.

I never met this hero, but he was sort of an intellectual grandfather to me. One of my most important formative influences was the famous particle physicist Walter Selove, under whom I gratefully studied as a postdoc here at Penn, for five years. His thesis advisor was Edward Teller.

[wita]

When I contemplate intelligence, I am stunned to realize that Dr Teller has had a PhD ten years longer than I have been alive, and I ain't no spring chicken. It is obvious from this thread that he knows that learning never stops, it is a lifetime achievement.

[CougarGA7]

I met Dr. Teller at his home on the Stanford campus in 1999. I knew the nurse who took care of him and his wife. The one thing that really stood out was how sharp his mind was even at his age. Truely a brilliant man.

[af_vet_rr]

The one thing that really stood out was how sharp his mind was even at his age.

I remember a year or two ago reading that when President Bush announced that we would be looking at a missile defense shield again, Teller was quite happy. Even at that age, he was still aware of the threat to the US that is getting closer and closer.

[Valin]

Thanks for posting this. I may have to keep my eyes open for his biography. From what I understand he and Oppehiemer(sp) went toe to toe over the H-bomb.

[wjcsux]

Teller was a great man. He read Algore's book "Earth in the Balance" and claimed that it was the rantings and ravings of a madman. God Bless you, Dr. Teller.