Nuclear Museum Logo
Nuclear Museum Logo

National Museum of Nuclear Science & History

Wilber A. Stevens was an army officer in charge of overseeing construction at Los Alamos. He helped choose the site where the Manhattan Project would test its first atomic bomb.

According to Robert W. Henderson, head of the Engineering Group in the Explosives Division, Stevens coined the name Trinity when the two were discussing the best way to transport the Jumbo device from the railroad. “A devout Roman Catholic, Stevens observed that the railroad siding was called ‘Pope’s Siding.’ He [then] remarked that the Pope had special access to the Trinity, and that the scientists would need all the help they could get to move the 214 ton Jumbo to its proper spot.”

Related Profiles

J. E. Crawford

Oak Ridge, TN

J. E. Crawford worked for the Midwest Piping and Supply Company.

G. Hedrick

Oak Ridge, TN

G. Hedrick worked for the Comstock-Bryant Electric Company.

Wilbur E. Davis

T-Plant/200 Areas

Wilbur E. Davis worked at the 200 West Area at Hanford during the Manhattan Project.

John W. Wilkes

Oak Ridge, TN

John Wilkes worked for the Roane-Anderson Company.