General Groves video

This University of Washington student and MIT graduate, who later went to West Point, had significant experience with engineering projects and military strategy. He had worked with the Chief of Engineers in 1934 and then as deputy to the Chief of Construction as the Pentagon was built in 1940.

Groves was known for his zealous behavior when a project was underway. He would use his confidence and sometimes ruthless behavior to organize people. He was able to motivate workers into action while maintaining a high level of secrecy and professionalism. Because of this, he was tagged as an ideal candidate for the management of the Manhattan Project, especially after the slow start under Colonel James Marshall. Groves began work on the Manhattan Project in September of 1942 with a $2 billion budget and limitless mind power for the project.

After the Manhattan Project finished building the first atomic bomb, Groves retired from military service in 1948, after he was named Lieutenant General of the Army's Special Weapons Project. After retiring from the military, he served as vice president for the Sperry Rand Corporation, which specialized in wartime technologies. Groves published a book about the Manhattan Project in 1962 entitled [Now It Can Be Told].

References

A Brief History of Groves

Groves and the Manhattan Project

Now It Can Be Told: Groves's Memoir

Life and Death of Leslie Groves