My Service with Ten Presidents, from FDR to Bush - A Lecture by Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg

John F. Kennedy

In 1961, when we renewed atmospheric testing (we had been in a moratorium on testing when the Soviets suddenly began to test in the atmosphere), I was asked to appear on Meet the Press. Here I am on the Meet the Press program. I had a rough 30 minutes on Meet the Press trying to explain what we were going to do. Actually, this was before we had decided to resume atmospheric testing. I got in touch with President Kennedy before I appeared on Meet the Press and I said, "They're going to ask me if you're going to decide to resume the atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons, and what shall I say?" And he said, "Oh, be very forthcoming but don't tell them anything." Well, I had a very rough 30 minutes on Meet the Press.

Dr. Seaborg on the cover of Time, 1961 Dr. Seaborg on the cover of Newsweek, 1961 Dr. Seaborg on the cover of Business Week, 1961

At that time, of course, the attention of the whole country was on us and this whole matter of atmospheric testing, and I appeared on the cover of Time magazine. I appeared on the cover of Newsweek magazine: I don't know if you'd recognize me there, but that is supposed to represent me. A little later I appeared on the cover of Business Week.

Norris Bradley, John Foster, Ed McMillan, Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg, JFK, Edward Teller, Robert McNamara, and Harold Brown at LBL before the Charter Day Address, 1962

In March, 1962, President Kennedy flew out to Berkeley in order to give the Charter Day address. We met in front of the Chemistry Building, which was Building 70A, just a couple of hundred feet from here, and here are Norris Bradbury, the Director of Los Alamos; John Foster, the Director of the Livermore Laboratory; Ed McMillan, who was the Director of this Laboratory at that time;and here am I, President Kennedy, Edward Teller, and Bob MacNamara, who was the Secretary of Defense, and Harold Brown, who was the Director of Defense Research and Engineering.

JFK at Memorial Stadium for the Charter Day Address

On that occasion Kennedy gave the Charter Day address in Memorial Stadium, and probably had the biggest crowd that had ever appeared there. The stadium was completely full, and the football field was also filled with chairs and people. On the flight out, he had talked to me about the University and wanted to know something about the people involved and so forth, and he was looking at the text as he was talking to me. I gave him a good deal of the background. I was astonished when he gave the address that he was able to bring out all of the information that I had given him about the people at Berkeley that were working in his administration, and so forth, and pretty well delivered his whole Charter Day address without more than glancing at the printed text.