Rotblat, Joseph (1908–2005)

Polish physicist who began working on the atom bomb as part of the Manhattan Project but withdrew in 1944 when he received intelligence that the Germans were not working on a bomb. He was instrumental in the formation of Pugwash, a group of scientists working towards nuclear disarmament. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995 (shared with Pugwash) for campaigning against nuclear weapons.

Rotblat was born in Warsaw. He graduated in 1932 and started working as a researcher at the Radiological Laboratory in Warsaw. He moved to Liverpool University in 1939, at the request of English physicist James Chadwick. His wife was to join him later but due to the Nazi invasion of Poland she was prevented from leaving. Rotblat never saw her again.

Rotblat moved to Los Alamos whilst working on the atom bomb, but returned to Liverpool in 1945. He moved to St Bartholomew's Hospital, London, where he began to work on the medical applications of physics. In 1954 he met Bertrand Russell who suggested the gathering together of scientists to discuss nuclear disarmament. Pugwash was named after a town in Nova Scotia where the first meeting was held. Rotblat was secretary general of Pugwash for 14 years and became president in 1988. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1995.