Shocking Inaccuracy in Nolan's Biopic Leaves Oppenheimer's Real-Life Grandson Fuming
Oppenheimer's real-life grandson expresses dissatisfaction over an inaccurate scene portrayed in Nolan's biopic, questioning its authenticity
Summary
Charles Oppenheimer refutes the historical authenticity of the poison apple scene portrayed in Christopher Nolan's film Oppenheimer, questioning its validity. He emphasizes that there exists no evidence indicating his grandfather's involvement in any attempted murder, dismissing the accusation as a significant distortion of historical facts.The apple scene in Oppenheimer is not historically accurate, as stated by Charles, J. Robert Oppenheimer's grandson. It is based on an uncertain reference from the biographical book American Prometheus, which even questions the occurrence of the incident. The film, directed by Christopher Nolan, depicts the life of the renowned physicist, including his leadership role in the Manhattan Project and the repercussions of developing the atomic bomb. In this particular scene, Oppenheimer, during his time at the University of Cambridge, tries to poison his demanding professor, Patrick Blackett, with an apple containing potassium cyanide. However, he later intervenes when scientist Niels Bohr is about to eat the poisoned apple.
In an interview with Time, Charles Oppenheimer stated that the reference to the poison apple in the story is not entirely accurate. He expressed his dislike for this particular part, which was a problem in the book American Prometheus. According to the authors of American Prometheus, they mention in the book that they are uncertain about whether this incident actually occurred. There is no documented evidence of Robert Oppenheimer attempting to harm someone. Charles Oppenheimer emphasized that this accusation is a serious one and can be seen as a historical revision. Throughout Robert Oppenheimer's life, neither his enemies nor his friends ever heard anything that supported this claim. The book American Prometheus obtained this information from certain references discussing a spring break trip, however, the original reporters of that story, which were only two or three individuals, stated that they were unaware of what Robert Oppenheimer was referring to. Unfortunately, American Prometheus summarizes this as an attempt by Robert Oppenheimer to harm his teacher, but they do acknowledge the existence of doubt regarding this claim.
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Source: Time
