James Franck (1882-1964)
He was born in Germany and received the Nobel physics prize in 1925 with G. Hertz, for their experimental work on the behavior of free electrons in gases confirming some parts of Bohr's atomic theory. However, he resigned from the chair in Goettingen and moved to the United States after Hitler assumed power.
During the World War II, he was working in the Metallurgical Laboratory of Chicago University, one of the centers for Manhattan Project; and toward the end of the War, he, together with several colleagues, submitted the "Franck Report" to the government, urging to avoid the use of the atomic bomb agaist Japan, and to prepare for the international control of the atomic power.
Although the journalism usually praises Leo Szilard for his display of "conscientious and responsible" behavior, it seems that the Franck Report is the main source of all subsequent movements and discussions of the responsibility of the scientist.
To Franck Page of Nobel Foundation
See also Nuclear physics timeline;
The Responsibility of the Scientist
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