Unofficial emblem of the Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project, named for the Manhattan District (the U.S. Army’s designation for the project), ran from 1942 to 1946. It was a research and development project undertaken by the United States with the assistance of Canada and Great Britain with the goal of defeating Germany in the race to develop an atomic bomb. It led to the production of the first nuclear weapons during World War II. Bombs were tested in the desert of New Mexico in July of 1945 and then dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9 respectively, leading to the surrender of Japan and the end of the war. Duluth native Phillip Merritt played a key role in the success of the project.
Phillip Merritt — image from the Geological Society of America
Phillip Leonidas Merritt was born in Duluth on February 8, 1906. His father was Alva L. Merritt, the son of Lucien F. Merritt, one of the eight Merritt brothers whose discovery of iron ore in the 1890s opened up mining on the Iron Range. His mother was Ruth Merritt, the daughter of Leonidas Merritt, the undisputed leader of the “Seven Iron Men.” Alva and Ruth were married in Duluth on November 12, 1895. Phillip grew up in a home at 4603 Oneota Street. He
Childhood home of Phillip Merritt
attended Denfeld High School for his freshman year and then attended a private school for the remainder of his high school years. He began as a student at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis in 1924 and completed an undergraduate degree in geology in 1928. Continue reading
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