EDWARD TELLER - FIRST DAY COVER SIGNED - HFSID 221432

EDWARD TELLER
The nuclear physicist who became known as the "Father of the Hydrogen Bomb" signed this First Day Cover that honors the American Society of Civil Engineers
First Day Cover signed: "Edward Teller", 6½x3½. FDC observing the 100th anniversary of the American Society of Civil Engineers, 3-cent stamp affixed, postmarked Chicago, Illinois, September 6, 1952, FIRST DAY OF ISSUE. Edward Teller (1908-2003), called the father of the hydrogen bomb, was born in Hungary and educated in Germany before fleeing the Nazis. He worked on the Manhattan Project, which developed the atomic (fission) bomb, but was already looking forward to the even greater power which might be unleashed by nuclear fusion. Teller influenced U.S. Presidents of both parties with his advocacy of nuclear weapons, nuclear energy, and the Strategic Defense Initiative. Teller made headlines in 1954 when he testified that he, personally, did not trust nuclear physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer enough to renew his security clearance. As a result of this hearing, Oppenheimer, another one of the pioneering scientists behind nuclear weapons, had his United States security clearance revoked. In his memoirs, Teller reflected on the use of nuclear weapons to end WWII: "I deeply regret the deaths and injuries that resulted from the atomic bombings, but my best explanation of why I do not regret working on weapons is a question: What if we hadn't?" Diagonal adhesive remnants on verso show through lightly, touching "Te" of signature. Otherwise, fine condition.