William Penney

British scientist

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July 23, 2026

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William Penney, Baron Penney, was a British nuclear physicist who played a pivotal role in the development of Britain's atomic bomb. He studied physics at the Imperial College of Science and Technology and the University of Cambridge. During World War II, he contributed to the development of the American atomic bomb at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. After the war, Penney led Britain's efforts to create its own atomic bomb, directing the first successful test in 1952. He later served as chairman of the U.K. Atomic Energy Authority.1

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nuclear weapon
Atomic weapons
William Penney, a member of the British team at Los Alamos, New Mexico, U.S., during the war, was placed in charge of fabricating and testing the bomb, which was to be of a plutonium type similar to the one dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. That Britain…
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William Penney, a member of the British team at Los Alamos, New Mexico, U.S., during the war, was placed in charge of fabricating and testing the bomb, which was to be of a plutonium type similar to the one dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. That Britain…
Read More