'Oppenheimer': The historic Long Island moment you won't see in Christopher Nolan's movie
J. Robert Oppenheimer, creator of the atomic bomb, is seen at his study at the Institute for Advanced Study, in Princeton, N.J., Dec. 15, 1957. Credit: AP / John Rooney
As Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” enters its first week of release, Long Islanders wanting to learn more about the man behind the atomic bomb need look no further than the North Fork. There, at the Ram’s Head Inn on Shelter Island, J. Robert Oppenheimer gathered for a conference with some of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century. This key moment, however, was not depicted in the film.
“I have had a lot of people stop in for just that reason,” Aandrea Carter, the Inn’s owner, said. “With the movie coming out, I’ve had folks from other countries who just wanted to be at this spot.”
Much of “Oppenheimer” follows its subject, played by Cillian Murphy, as he spearheads the top-secret development of nuclear weapons in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Not seen in the movie is the 1947 Conference on the Foundations of Quantum Mechanics — informally known as the Shelter Island Conference — where scientists gathered to discuss their latest findings without having to worry about security clearances. Held from June 2 to 4, the conference was sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences and pulled together two dozen high-profile members of the physics community, including such future Nobel winners as Linus Pauling, Hans Bethe, Willis Lamb and a young Richard Feynman.
According to local news reports and details from the National Academy of Sciences website, the attendees arrived in Greenport on June 1 and had dinner at Mitchell’s Restaurant as guests of the Greenport Chamber of Commerce and Village Board of Trustees before leaving for Shelter Island. John C. White, the chamber’s president and a former Marine who served in the Pacific, paid for the meal to show his gratitude for the scientists’ help in ending the war. The guests rode through town on a bus escorted by police on motorcycles.
Among the subjects they would discuss at the Ram’s Head Inn: elementary particle theory, upper atmosphere meson phenomena and experiments with cosmic rays. The Academy describes the meeting as “a landmark in the history of postwar physics.”
Carter, who purchased the Ram’s Head Inn in 2021, said the property came with a scroll and a plaque commemorating the conference, both now displayed in the lobby. She’s hoping to put together an informational flyer on the event and added that she’s working on acquiring several known photographs, including one of Oppenheimer perched on a couch armrest with a pipe while Feynman points to a document with a pen.
“It feels like if we’re a historical spot, we should have more information to provide to people,” Carter said. “This was such an important moment in history and an incredible collection of minds.”
