Harry Daghlian
A young physicist’s life and a lesson in research safety
Haroutune Krikor Daghlian, known as Harry Daghlian, was an Armenian American physicist born in 1921. He studied at MIT and then Purdue University, graduating in 1942.
While still a young researcher, he joined the Manhattan Project team at Los Alamos. His short career unfolded during the rapid wartime expansion of nuclear physics.
On 21 August 1945, a laboratory accident exposed him to severe radiation. He died on 15 September. The accident prompted revisions to experimental safety procedures. His memory is associated both with a promising scientific life cut short and with the importance of protecting the people who carry out research.