Nuclear Museum Logo
Nuclear Museum Logo

National Museum of Nuclear Science & History

Col. Whitney Ashbridge was the Commander of the Army Post at Los Alamos during the Manhattan Project.

Born in Philadelphia, Ashbridge went on to earn a degree in Civil Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In the 1930s, he worked with the Civilian Conservation Corps. in Virginia. Then, he served in the U.S. Army. He first served as a post commander of the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, and then he served in the Philippines.

After the war, Ashbridge continued his work as a Civil Engineer. From 1947 to 1958, he headed the Frederic Snare Corp., a civil engineering firm in Caracas, Venezuela.  From 1958 to 1968, he served as the assistant administrator for construction at the Veterans Administration. He passed away on August 2, 1980.

Related Profiles

Frank P. Forwood Jr.

K-25 Plant

Attended the Alabama Polytechnic Institute.

Laverne Bloom

Hanford, WA

Laverne Bloom worked as a Military Policeman from 1945-1946 in Hanford, Washington. While not on guard duty, Bloom often cooked for his troop and occasionally made meals for the director of the Manhattan Project, General Leslie Groves.

Burr H. Ritter

Niagara Falls, NY

Burr H. Ritter was a chemical engineer at the Hooker Chemical Company in Niagara Falls, New York during the Manhattan Project.

R.J. Stephenson

Chicago, IL

R.J. Stepheson was a consultant at the Metallurgical Laboratory in Chicago during the Manhattan Project.