Exploring The Lives of J. Robert Oppenheimer’s Living Relatives
Despite not being featured in Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’, several living relatives of J. Robert Oppenheimer persist. The renowned theoretical physicist hailed as the Father of the Atomic Bomb for his pivotal role in the Manhattan Project and the subsequent bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, led a complex life, striving to balance scientific pursuits with traditional family values.
Oppenheimer’s death in 1967 sparked global reflections on his legacy, yet his family members, privy to a more personal view, carry their perspectives on the controversial figure. Cillian Murphy’s portrayal in Nolan’s biopic captures Oppenheimer’s earnestness and the challenges his professional and national commitments posed to family life.
The film briefly touches on Oppenheimer’s wife, Kitty, leaving audiences curious about her post-movie fate. Kitty outlived her husband by five years, passing away in 1972 at the age of 62. After Oppenheimer’s death, she remarried physicist Robert Serber, another Manhattan Project contributor, forming a new chapter in her life after the loss of her first husband.
At 81 years old, J. Robert Oppenheimer’s son, Peter Oppenheimer, is still alive and lives in his father’s New Mexico ranch. Peter, the eldest child of Kitty and Robert, was born in Pasadena, California before Oppenheimer’s involvement in the Manhattan Project led the family to Los Alamos when Peter was a young child.
Known for his extreme shyness and generalized anxiety, Peter led a largely isolated childhood, facing challenges in education and socialization, heightened by a strained relationship with his self-destructive mother, Kitty.
Peter has three living grandchildren – Dorothy, Charles, and Ella. Although none of Peter’s children had the chance to meet their notorious grandfather, Charles has expressed concerns about factual inaccuracies in ‘Oppenheimer’ after the film’s release. Christopher Nolan clarified to Charles that certain scenes were dramatized for cinematic effect, yet Charles feels that a crucial scene should have been omitted to protect his grandfather’s controversial legacy.
– Farheen Ali
