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

William O. Davidson

Los Alamos, NM

Albert A. Bartlett

Los Alamos, NM

Albert Bartlett was born in Shanghai. He went on to attend Colgate University. After graduation, Bartlett was selected for the Manhattan Project because of his background in physics.

Frank S. Catando

Los Alamos, NM

Willard L. Dennison

X-10 Graphite Reactor

Attended the University of Wisconsin.