1789
1896
1898
1905
1932
1938
January 1939
May 1939
August 29, 1939
1940
1940s
December 14, 1940
July 1941
December 2, 1942
August 1, 1946
December 1951
March 30, 1953
December 8, 1953
January 21, 1954
June 1954
July 29, 1957
December 2, 1957
July 21, 1959
1960
September 24, 1960
May 27, 1967
February 19, 1971
May 13, 1972
December 22, 1972
June 1973
August 4, 1977
August 20, 1977
1980
1983
1984
1985
1993
1996
2000
April 30, 2002
August 16, 2003
2007
2015
February 2020
German Chemist Martin Klaproth Discovers Uranium
Pierre and Marie Curie Identify ‘Radioactivity’
Pierre and Marie Curie Isolate Polonium and Radium from Pitchblende
Albert Einstein Suggests The Equivalence Between Mass and Energy
James Chadwick Discovers the Neutron
Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann Demonstrate Atomic Fission
Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch, Working Under Niels Bohr, Calculate the Energy Release from Fission
Francis Perrin Introduces the Concept of the Critical Mass of Uranium Required to Produce a Self-Sustaining Release of Energy
Bohr and Wheeler Publish an Analysis of the Fission Process
Soviet physicists Georgy Flyorov and Konstantin Petrzhak Demonstrate Spontaneous Fission
Uranium is First Enriched in the United States as Part of The Manhattan Project
Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg, Joseph W. Kennedy, Edwin M. McMillan, and Arthur C. Wahl Produce and Isolate Plutonium
British MAUD Committee Releases ‘Use of Uranium as a Source of Power’ Report
The First Controlled, Self-Sustaining Nuclear Chain Reaction is Conducted. The First Nuclear Reactor, Chicago Pile-1, is built on a Squash Court at the University of Chicago
President Trumen Signs the Atomic Energy Act, Creating the Atomic Energy Commission to Oversee Peacetime Development of Atomic Science and Technology
Experimental Breeder Reactor (EBR-1) at Argonne National Laboratory in Idaho Produces Electricity
The Mark 1 Prototype Naval Reactor Starts Up
President Eisenhower Gives His “Atoms For Peace” Speech, Promoting Atomic Power for Peaceful Purposes
"The more important responsibility of this Atomic Energy Agency would be to devise methods whereby this fissionable material would be allocated to serve the peaceful pursuits of mankind. Experts would be mobilized to apply atomic energy to the needs of agriculture, medicine, and other peaceful activities. A special purpose would be to provide abundant electrical energy in the power-starved areas of the world. Thus the contributing powers would be dedicating some of their strength to serve the needs rather than the fears of mankind." - President Dwight Eisenhower, December 8, 1953
The USS Nautilus, the First Nuclear-Powered Submarine, is Launched
Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant Becomes The World’s First Grid-Connected Nuclear Power Station
The International Atomic Energy Agency is Formed to Regulate and Promote Peaceful Use of Atomic Power.
Shippingport Atomic Power Station Becomes the World’s First Atomic Electric Power Plant Devoted Exclusively to Peacetime Uses
The First Nuclear-Powered Merchant Ship, the NS Savannah, is Launched
The Dresden and Yankee Rowe Nuclear Power Stations Become the First Privately Funded, Commercial Reactors
The USS Enterprise, the First Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carrier and the Longest Naval Vessel in the World, Is Launched. Beginning with the Construction of Enterprise, Every U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier Has Been Nuclear-Powered and Built at Newport News Shipbuilding.
The USS John F. Kennedy Becomes the Last Conventionally Powered Carrier Built for the US Navy. Every Carrier Since has been Powered by Nuclear.
Construction Begins on the North Anna Nuclear Generating Station in Louisa County, Virginia
The USS Nimitz, the First Nimitz Class Supercarrier, is Launched by Newport News Shipbuilding.
Surry Power Station is Commissioned in Surry County, Virginia
The First 1,000-Megawatt Nuclear Plant Goes into Service (Commonwealth Edison’s Zion Nuclear Power Plant).
President Carter Signs the The Department of Energy Organization Act Combining Several Agencies Under the New Secretary of Energy.
Voyager 2 is Launched Toward The Outer Solar System. For 43 years, It Has Been Powered By Plutonium Decay.
For the First Time, Nuclear Energy Generates More Power Than Oil in the United States
Nuclear Energy Generates More Electricity than Natural Gas
Nuclear Surpasses Hydropower to Become the Second Largest Source of Electricity in the United States.
The 100th Nuclear Power Plant in the US Comes Online in Ohio.
The 109 Nuclear Power Plants Operating in the United States Provided About One-Fifth of the Nation’s Electricity.
Tennessee Valley Authority’s Watts Bar 1 Nuclear Power Plant is the Last Unit to be Licensed in the United States in the 20th Century.
The NRC Issued the First-Ever License Renewal to Constellation Energy’s Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant
The Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant, the Oldest in the World, is Shut Down
The USS Virginia (SSN-774), the First Virginia Class Nuclear Submarine is Launched.
Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant Becomes the First U.S. Nuclear Reactor to Come Online in the 21st Century.
The US Celebrates the 60th Anniversary of the USS Nautilus. The Nuclear Navy Has Logged More Than 6,600 Reactor Years of Accident-Free Operations While Traveling Over 155 Million Miles on Nuclear Power.
Final Concrete Placement Inside Georgia Power's Vogtle Unit 3
When complete, Vogtle 3 will be the first new reactor built in the US in more than 30 years. The first fuel order for Vogtle 3 was placed in July 2019.