History Facts

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks at the end of World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States at the order of U.S. President Harry S. Truman on August 6 and 9, 1945. The atomic bombs killed thousands of people in a matter of minutes, but it was a necessary action to end the war. To this day, these are the only two instances of attacks with nuclear weapons in history.

Fact #1 - Atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan on August 6 and 9 respectively.

These two cities were chosen because they fit a set criteria issued by the Target Committee. They were large cities that had a military presence and were unlikely to be attacked prior to the bombing dates.

Fact #2 - The Manhattan Project was the project to develop the first nuclear weapon (atomic bomb) during World War II by the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

Born out of a small research program in 1939, the Manhattan Project eventually employed more than 130,000 people and cost nearly $2 billion USD ($24 billion in 2008 dollars based on CPI). I don’t know the history of all weapons, but this most have been the most expensive weapon development project of it’s time. The Manhattan Project was top secret, so the fact that it employed 130,000 people is also impressive.

Fact #3 - The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima was known as “Little Boy” and the bomb dropped on Nagasaki was named “Fat Man.”

Some people say the name “Fat Man” was picked because the bomb looked like Winston Churchill! I don’t believe that though. I think the names for the bombs came from the shapes they were. One was skinny and long, the other was short and fat.

Fact #4 - The atomic bombs killed as many as 140,000 people in Hiroshima and 80,000 in Nagasaki by the end of 1945.

Since then, thousands of people have died from injuries or illnesses related to radiation.

Fact #5 - The Japanese were warned about Nagasaki.

Truman never intended to drop 2 atomic bombs on Japan. He thought one would be enough. After the Hiroshima bombing, President Truman announced, “If they do not accept our terms, they may expect a rain of ruin from the air the likes of which has never been seen on this earth.” Japan refused, and the rest is history.