- Born:
- February 21, 1914, Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.
- Died:
- January 4, 1944, San Francisco, California (aged 29)
Jean Tatlock
-
Who was Jean Tatlock?
Jean Tatlock (1914ā1944) was an American physician, psychiatrist, and communist sympathizer. In 1934, after witnessing the violent events of Bloody Thursday during the West Coast Waterfront Strike in San Francisco, she began attending political rallies and writing for the Western Worker, a periodical of the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA).
In 1936, she met J. Robert Oppenheimer, and they began dating. Although he proposed twice, she declined, and they eventually separated. Tatlock struggled with depression and died by suicide in 1944.
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What did Jean Tatlock do for a living?
Jean Tatlock was an American physician and psychiatrist. She completed a degree in psychiatry in 1941 from Stanford Medical School. Later, she completed an internship at Saint Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C., and returned to San Francisco for a residency in the department of psychiatry at Mount Zion Hospital.
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Which famous scientist was Jean Tatlock connected with?
Jean Tatlock, an American psychiatrist and communist sympathizer, is most famously connected with J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American theoretical physicist and director of the Los Alamos Laboratory during the development of the atomic bomb. They met in 1936, began dating shortly after, and maintained a complicated relationship. Although Oppenheimer proposed marriage twice, Tatlock declined, and they eventually separated. Oppenheimer later married botanist Katherine ("Kitty") Puening Harrison. Their relationship became a significant issue during Oppenheimer's security clearance hearing in 1954, when his association with Tatlock, a woman with communist sympathies, was scrutinized.
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What were some of Jean Tatlockās main interests and beliefs?
Jean Tatlock was an American physician, psychiatrist, and communist sympathizer. After witnessing the Bloody Thursday incident during the West Coast Waterfront Strike in 1934, she began attending political rallies and writing for the Western Worker, a periodical of the Communist Party of the United States of America. She also met members of the party and attended lectures and social events with others who had similar interests. Tatlock also developed a fascination with actresses, and she considered becoming an actress. She questioned her sexuality and experienced mood swings and episodes of depression.
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How did Jean Tatlockās political views affect her life and reputation?
Jean Tatlock, an American psychiatrist and communist sympathizer, was politically active, writing for the Western Worker, a Communist Party publication, after witnessing the Bloody Thursday incident during the West Coast Waterfront Strike in 1934. Her political associations later affected her life and reputation through her relationship with J. Robert Oppenheimer.
Oppenheimer's affair with Tatlock became a focus during a 1954 Atomic Energy Commission tribunal, where he was questioned about communist ties and potential Soviet espionage. This scrutiny led to the revocation of his security clearance, sparking outrage among his colleagues.
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What impact did Jean Tatlock have on American history and science?
Jean Tatlock was an American physician, psychiatrist, and communist sympathizer. After graduating from Stanford with a degree in psychiatry in 1941, she completed an internship at Saint Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C., and then returned to San Francisco for a psychiatry residency at Mount Zion Hospital.
In 1936, Tatlock met J. Robert Oppenheimer, and they began dating that autumn. They separated, and Oppenheimer later married Katherine Puening Harrison in 1940.
In 1943, while Oppenheimer was being considered to lead the Manhattan Project, the FBI opened a file on him. Tatlock contacted Oppenheimer, and they met, unaware that intelligence agents were monitoring them. In 1954, Oppenheimer was questioned about his past associations with communist organizations and his affair with Tatlock. Subsequently, his security clearance was revoked.
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Jean Tatlock (born February 21, 1914, Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.ādied January 4, 1944, San Francisco, California) was an American physician, psychiatrist, and communist sympathizer.
Early life and education
Tatlock was the second and youngest child of John and Marjorie Tatlock. At age 10, after spending her early childhood in San Francisco, she moved with her family to Massachusetts. There she attended Cambridge Rindge and Latin School and became close to her friend Maryāa relationship that caused Tatlock to question her sexuality. She developed a fascination with actresses; she would often wait at stage doors to meet her favourite actresses and ask for their autographs. She even considered becoming an actress herself. About this time, Tatlock also began to experience mood swings and episodes of depression. Her family moved back to California, and Tatlock often wrote to her friends in Massachusetts; in her letters, she would express concerns about her sexuality and about moments of religious ecstasy that she had experienced.
Tatlock subsequently returned to the East Coast to attend Vassar College in New York, graduating in 1935. She then went to Williams College in Berkeley, California, and later was accepted into Stanford Medical School, completing a degree in psychiatry in 1941. Following an internship at Saint Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C., she returned to San Francisco for a residency in the department of psychiatry at Mount Zion Hospital.
Communist sympathies
While visiting San Francisco in 1934, Tatlock witnessed a violent confrontation during the West Coast Waterfront Strike. In the confrontation, two striking longshoremen were killed by police, and hundreds more were injuredāan event that came to be known as Bloody Thursday. That event led Tatlock to begin attending political rallies, and she started writing for the Western Worker, a periodical of the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA). She met members of the party and attended lectures and social events with others with similar interests.
Relationship with Oppenheimer
In spring 1936 Tatlock was introduced to physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer at a house party. At the time, Oppenheimer was a professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley. The two began dating the following autumn and attended lectures and meetings together. Oppenheimer proposed to Tatlock twice over the course of their relationship, but she declined, and they eventually separated. Oppenheimer later married (1940) botanist Katherine (āKittyā) Puening Harrison.
In 1941 the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opened a file on Oppenheimer, who was under consideration to lead the Manhattan Project, the top-secret government program to develop an atomic bomb. In June 1943 Oppenheimer flew from Los Alamos, New Mexico, to Berkeley to recruit David Hawkins as an administrative assistant. While he was there, Tatlock called and asked to meet, as she had been missing him. They went to dinner, and Oppenheimer spent the night at Tatlockās apartment, unaware that their activities were being monitored by intelligence agents, who had also tapped Tatlockās phone. The next morning Tatlock took Oppenheimer to the airport for his return trip to Los Alamos. It was the last time that they saw one another.
In early 1954, when fear of communist infiltration ran high, Oppenheimer was called before a tribunal of the Atomic Energy Commission, where he was questioned about his past associations with communist organizations, the possibility that he was a Soviet spy, and other accusations. Oppenheimerās affair with Tatlock, a woman with communist sympathies, was an integral part of the proceedings. Oppenheimer had his security clearance revoked, which enraged his peers.
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Death
Tatlock struggled with depression throughout much of her adult life. In January 1944 John Tatlock, who had become increasingly concerned about his daughterās depression, went to visit her. When she did not answer the door, he entered her apartment through a window. He found Tatlock kneeling on a pillow by the side of the bathtub with her head and shoulders submerged in water. She had left an unsigned note that read:
I am disgusted with everything.ā¦To those who loved me and helped me, all love and courage. I wanted to live and to give and I got paralyzed somehow. I tried like hell to understand and couldnāt.ā¦I think I would have been a liability all my lifeāat least I could take away the burden of a paralyzed soul from a fighting world.
An autopsy revealed that Tatlock had barbiturates and traces of the sedative chloral hydrate in her system when she died. Her cause of death was listed as suicide. Her father burned her letters and photos before the police arrived, destroying documents that might have provided a clearer view into her affiliation with the CPUSA. Some people, including Tatlockās brother, Hugh, speculated that she had been murdered, possibly by intelligence agents from Los Alamos; no definitive evidence to support that theory was uncovered.