John Williams (1908 - 1966)

John Williams was born on July 7, 1908, in Asbestos, Canada. He earned a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of California, Berkeley. He began teaching at the University of Minnesota in 1934. He obtained US citizenship in 1942 and became a contract researcher for the US Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD). His work with Van de Graaff generators led him to be recruited to work on the Manhattan Project. He joined the Experimental Physics Division at Los Alamos as head of the Electrostatic Generator Group under Robert Bacher. In 1945, he was deputy director of the first atomic bomb test, Trinity. In fact, he witnessed the Trinity Test alongside George Kistiakowsky from less than two miles away from the atomic blast.

In 1946, after the war, he assisted with Operation Crossroad, before returning to his position at the University of Minnesota. He was appointed Director of the Research Division for the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) in 1958, and the following year he was appointed Atomic Energy Commissioner. He also was a member of the General Advisory Committee for the AEC from 1960-1966. Williams died of pneumonia in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on April 18, 1966.