Timeline
1951 - 1961
December 1951 The first usable electricity from nuclear fission is produced at the National Reactor Station, later called the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, in the U.S.A.
December 1953 In his Atoms for Peace speech, President Eisenhower proposes joint international co-operation to develop peaceful applications of nuclear energy
January 1954 The first nuclear submarine, U.S.S. Nautilus, is launched
September 1957 The United States sets off first underground nuclear test in a mountain tunnel in the remote desert 100 miles from Las Vegas
October 1957 The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is formed to promote the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to provide international safeguards and an inspection system to ensure nuclear materials are not diverted from peaceful to military uses
September 1961 As part of a campaign to reduce the United States' vulnerability to nuclear attack, President Kennedy advises Americans to build fallout shelters
*Source: US dept. of energy office of environmental management & nuclearfiles.org |