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William Leonard Laurence | |
|---|---|
 Laurence on the island of Tinian before the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. | |
| Born | Leib Wolf Siew March 7, 1888 Salantai, Lithuania, Russian Empire |
| Died | March 19, 1977 (aged 89) Mallorca, Spain |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Other names | "Atomic Bill" |
| Citizenship | United States (naturalized 1913) |
| Education | Boston University |
| Employer | The New York Times |
| Known for | Reporting on the Atomic Age |
William Leonard Laurence (March 7, 1888 – March 19, 1977) was a Jewish American science journalist best known for his work at The New York Times.[1] Born in the Russian Empire, he won two Pulitzer Prizes. As the official historian of the Manhattan Project, he was the only journalist to witness the Trinity test and the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. He is credited with coining the iconic term "Atomic Age," which became popular in the 1950s. Infamously, he dismissed the destructive effects of radiation sickness as Japanese propaganda in The New York Times. Even though he had seen the effects first-hand, he had been on the War Department payroll, and was asked by United States military officials to do so in order to discredit earlier reports by independent journalist Wilfred Burchett, the first reporter on-site after the bombings.[2]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
obitwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Goodman, Amy; Goodman, David (August 5, 2005). "The Hiroshima cover-up". baltimoresun.com. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2022.