Abstract:
Eric Theodore Carlson was an American graduate student in the chemistry department at Iowa State College who was drafted by the United States Army in 1944, and chosen to work for the Manhattan Engineer District. He took part in classified research into atomic power which was utilized in the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan in August of 1945. The Eric Theodore Carlson collection spans from January of 1944 until December of 1946, and consists of his personal, educational, and professional correspondences, official military documents pertaining to Mr. Carlson, and information about his involvement in the push to get the McMahon Bill (later known as the Atomic Energy Act of 1946) passed.
Biographical Note:
American Eric Theodore Carlson was born circa August, 1923. After receiving a B.A. in chemistry from Wesleyan University in February of 1944, he immediately began his studies as a graduate student in the chemistry department at Iowa State College. On July 28th, 1944 Carlson was ordered to report for induction to the selective service. Due to his scientific education, after a brief stay at Fort Snelling, Minnesota he was retained by the Manhattan Military Engineering District in early August of 1944 to work at the Chrysler plant in Detroit, Michigan. During the year that he served in Detroit, he was involved in classified scientific research involving atomic energy, which was used in the creation of the atomic bombs that were dropped on Japan in August of 1945.
On October 15, 1945, Carlson was called up for active military duty and ordered to report to Fort Sheridan, Illinois. He was then transferred to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri for 6 weeks of “special” basic training and then moved, in November of 1945, to the 9812th TSU in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. At the end of November 1945, Carlson began a research position working for Dr. Haring in Dayton, Ohio through the Special Engineer Detachment for the Manhattan District Corps of Engineers. On March 11, 1946 Carlson requested an army discharge, after receiving a job offer to be a civilian research assistant chemist at Monsanto in Dayton, Ohio. After being promoted to the rank of technician fourth grade on March 26, 1946, Carlson was discharged from the army on April 7, 1946. During his time in Dayton, Carlson was politically active, working to organize other scientists in order to get the McMahon Bill (later known as the Atomic Energy Act of 1946) passed. After working at Monsanto for five months, Carlson began medical school at Cornell University (Ithaca, NY) in September of 1946.