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National Museum of Nuclear Science & History

William T. Allman, Jr.

Chemical EngineerOak Ridge, TN

K-25 Plant
EngineerManhattan Project VeteranSpecial Engineer Detachment

William T. Allman, Jr. was born in Richmond, Virginia on December 26, 1917. He joined the army before Pearl Harbor, in an attempt to finish his military service before returning to school. Yet, he ended up in the army until the end of the war.

William Allman graduated from the University of Richmond. He was drafted by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers and was assigned to the Special Engineer Detachment at Oak Ridge, TN. He was a supervisor at the K25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant. He was once in a chemical accident in an Oak Ridge lab. All personnel had to be decontaminated and medically cleared. Were assured no problems.

He married Frances Carroll (SAM Lab, Columbia) in Sept. 1945, whom he met while on the Manhattan Project. After the war, he eventually returned to school, getting his PhD in biology from Vanderbilt University in 1952. He taught at Winthrop College in South Carolina for several years, then worked for the Celanese Corp.

Later, he taught at Randolph-Macon College in Virginia and then worked with delinquent boys before retiring. He was the father of seven children. He never talked about his time on the Manhattan Project, but did give all his children a respect for science and a love of learning. He had several happy retirement years and kept very busy. He remained interested in almost everything–carpentry, photography, building guns, gardening, framing pictures, and raising ducks. He was an avid fisherman all his life. He died on April 12, 1991, at the age of 74.

William T. Allman, Jr.’s Timeline
1917 Dec 26th Born in Richmond, Virginia.

19441945 Joined the Manhattan Project at Oak Ridge as part of the Special Engineer Detachment where he worked as a supervisor in the K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant.

1952 Received Ph.D. in biology from Vanderbilt University.

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