Photographs from the Papers of Spofford Grady English

Spofford Grady English was born on November 16, 1915 in Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee and received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1943. While at Berkeley, English studied plutonium chemistry under the direction of Glenn T. Seaborg and later became a group leader on the Manhattan Project, working out of Seaborg’s Metallurgical Laboratory at the University of Chicago. English joined the Atomic Energy Commission (A.E.C.) in 1947 and served as Chief of the Chemistry Branch, Division of Research, until 1960. An advocate of disarmament, English spearheaded a range of non-weapons research and development carried out by the A.E.C., including the development of fission and fusion reactors, biological research, and nuclear education and training. English also served as Chairman of the Plowshare Advisory Committee from 1959 to 1973 and as the Atomic Energy Commission's Assistant General Manager for Research and Development from 1961 to 1973. English retired from the A.E.C. in 1976 as Associate Director, Division of Physical Research. Spofford Grady English died on April 6, 1981 in Bethesda, Maryland.