12 Facts About Ed Westcott

James Edward Westcott was an American photographer who was noted for his work with the United States government in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, during the Manhattan Project and the Cold War.

Ed Westcott was born on January 20,1922, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the son of Jamie and Lucille Westcott, and moved to Nashville with his family as a child.

Ed Westcott was the 29th employee hired for the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, where he was to work as an official government photographer from 1942 to 1966.

Ed Westcott processed film taken by the damage assessment teams in his laboratory in Oak Ridge.

In June 1945, Ed Westcott became an Army employee again, and in the post-war years he transitioned to employment with the US Atomic Energy Commission after its formation in 1946.

Ed Westcott photographed nuclear power stations all over the United States.

When he met with Oppenheimer, Ed Westcott learned that the physicist wanted a cigarette but lacked the change to buy some.

Ed Westcott then captured the image of the physicist sitting next to a fireplace mantel in the Oak Ridge Guest House holding the freshly lighted cigarette in his hand.

Ed Westcott's photographs have been widely reproduced, often without naming him as the photographer, in publications and exhibits about the Manhattan Project.

Ed Westcott was married to Esther Seigenthaler Westcott for 56 years before her death.

In 2005, Ed Westcott suffered a stroke that impaired his speech.

Ed Westcott died on March 29,2019, in Oak Ridge, at the age of 97.