Date: October 1936

Title: Lyman Briggs called to the White House to investigate the atomic power

Description:

Lyman Briggs, a 1893 graduate of MAC, evolved into a prominent figure.

Briggs never went to high school and entered MAC by examination at age 15. He graduated second in his class four years later. He went on to receive his masters degree in physics at the University of Michigan and then his Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins University. He worked on creating new mechanical devices and began to explore many aspects of the sciences.

Briggs and Dr. Paul R. Heyl went on to invent the earth inductor compass that was used by Charles Lindbergh in his trans-Atlantic flight in 1927. After President Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in 1933 he appointed Dr. Briggs to be the Acting Director of the U.S. Bureau of Standards.

In October of 1939, shortly after the discovery of uranium fission, Briggs was called to the White House and given the responsibility to head a top-secret investigation into the possibilities of atomic power.

Briggs went on to receive honorary degrees from six universities and was a member of numerous organizations and a winner of multiple awards including the U.S. Presidential Medal for Merit.

The Lyman Briggs School was named after this remarkable man.

Source: The Spirit of Michigan State, J. Bruce McCristal