Nuclear Museum Logo
Nuclear Museum Logo

National Museum of Nuclear Science & History

Ralph Nobles was one of three brothers to work on the Manhattan Project. He and his brother William worked at Los Alamos, while brother Robert was at the University of Chicago’s Metallurgical Laboratory. During the Trinity test, Ralph helped operate data recorders. Ralph married Carolyn Fisher, who worked as a secretary at Los Alamos.

He went on to earn a PhD in physics and worked for many years at Lockheed Missiles and Space. He was also heavily involved in efforts to preserve San Francisco Bay.

For more information about Nobles’ life and work, see Ralph Nobles dies; Manhattan Project physicist saved San Francisco Bay wetlands.

Ralph Nobles’s Timeline
1920 Born in Dexter, MO.

19431945 Worked on the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos.

1945 Jul 16th Witnessed the Trinity test.

1954 Married Carolyn Fisher, who had worked as a secretary at Los Alamos on the Manhattan Project.

2015 Feb 20th Died in San Francisco, CA.

Badge photo from Los Alamos

Related Profiles

Thomas V. Davis

Los Alamos, NM

Paul A. Henry

Paul A. Henry was a scientist who worked on pigmentation and paints during World War II. Born in June 13, 1912 in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York, he attended the Pratt Institute and the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute.

W. H. Hale

Oak Ridge, TN

W. H. Hale worked for the Edenfield Electric Company.

Joseph E. Draley

Chicago, IL

Joseph E. Draley was a research associate at the University of Chicago’s Metallurgical Laboratory (“Met Lab”) during the Manhattan Project.