Edward Uhler Condon (March 2, 1902 – March 26, 1974)
Nuclear physicist, a pioneer in quantum mechanics, and developer of radar and nuclear weapons during World War II as part of the Manhattan Project. The Franck–Condon principle and the Slater–Condon rules are co-named after him.
Director of the National Bureau of Standards from 1945 to 1951.
Director of Condon Commission organized by the National Academy of Sciences and the University of Colorado. The commission issued the infamous Condon Report.
Principle author of the 1968 Air Force funded study Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects — aka the Condon Report — concluding that unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have prosaic explanations.
In the early cold war, Condon was accused by the House Un-American Activities Committee of Soviet sympathies, though the accusation was political. The chair of the committee, Rep Parnell Thomas, wanted the military to control atomic energy, while Condon was an outspoken advocate civilian control.
On January 2, 1958, L. Ron Hubbard wrote to Condon, referencing was still secret information about scientists who were under investigation, suggesting they form an “outcasts club” — essentially baiting Condon to declare himself a Communist.
