Donald Frederick Hornig was an American chemist, explosives expert, teacher and presidential science advisor.
10 Facts About Donald Hornig
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Donald Hornig served as president of Brown University from 1970 to 1976.
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Donald Hornig attended Milwaukee Country Day School, then earned his undergraduate degree in chemistry from Harvard University.
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Donald Hornig worked on the firing unit that was used for the implosion of the plutonium device, and was the person who pushed the button for the test, as he later told his friends Eugene Rosenbaum and Anne Rosenbaum Vohl.
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Donald Hornig helped prepare the first atomic bomb, Trinity, and witnessed its explosion, the first detonation of a nuclear device.
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Donald Hornig was sent up to the top of the tower twice the previous day to reassure a nervous Robert Oppenheimer that all was well.
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Donald Hornig assumed office on January 24,1964, but did not get along with the new president, Lyndon Baines Johnson, who had poor relationships with many scientists.
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Donald Hornig left office at the end of the president's term in 1969, and accepted an executive position with Eastman Kodak Company.
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Since 2013, Donald Hornig has been listed on the Advisory Council of the National Center for Science Education.
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Donald Hornig died from Alzheimer's disease in Providence, Rhode Island, on January 21,2013.