Editing J. Robert Oppenheimer (section)

=== Childhood and education ===
Oppenheimer was born Julius Robert Oppenheimer{{refn|group=note|name=initialJ|Oppenheimer's birth certificate reads "Julius Robert Oppenheimer,"{{sfn|Cassidy|2005|p=2}}<ref>{{harvnb|Pais|2006|p=355 (end plates)}}</ref> and his college transcript "J Robert Oppenheimer."{{sfn|Smith|Weiner|1980|p=337}} Oppenheimer himself said the ''J'' stood for nothing, and his brother Frank "surmised that the ''J'' was symbolic, a gesture in the direction of naming the eldest son after the father but at the same time a signal that his parents did not want Robert to be a 'junior.{{' "}}<ref>{{harvnb|Smith|Weiner|1980|p=1}}</ref>}} into a non-observant Jewish family in New York City on April 22, 1904, to Ella (née Friedman), a painter, and Julius Seligmann Oppenheimer, a successful textile importer.<ref>{{harvnb|Schweber|2008|p=283}}</ref><ref name="Cassidy, pp. 5-11">{{harvnb|Cassidy|2005|pp=5–11}}</ref> Robert had a younger brother, [[Frank Oppenheimer|Frank]], who also became a physicist.<ref>{{harvnb|Cassidy|2005|pp=16, 145, 282}}</ref> His father was born in [[Hanau]], when it was still part of the [[Province of Hesse-Nassau|Hesse-Nassau province]] of the [[Kingdom of Prussia]], and as a teenager made his way to the United States in 1888, without money, higher education, or even English. He was hired by a textile company and within a decade was an executive there, eventually becoming wealthy.<ref>{{harvnb|Bird|Sherwin|2005|p=10}}</ref> In 1912, the family moved to an apartment on [[Riverside Drive (Manhattan)|Riverside Drive]] near West 88th Street, [[Hudson Heights, New York]], an area known for luxurious mansions and townhouses.<ref name="Cassidy, pp. 5-11"/> Their art collection included works by [[Pablo Picasso]], [[Édouard Vuillard]], and [[Vincent van Gogh]].<ref>{{harvnb|Bird|Sherwin|2005|p=12}}</ref>

Oppenheimer was initially educated at Alcuin Preparatory School. In 1911, he entered the [[Ethical Culture Fieldston School|Ethical Culture Society School]],<ref name="Cassidy 2005 35">{{harvnb|Cassidy|2005|p=35}}</ref> founded by [[Felix Adler (professor)|Felix Adler]] to promote training based on the [[Ethical movement]], whose motto was "Deed before Creed". Oppenheimer's father had been a member of the Society for many years, serving on its board of trustees.<ref>{{harvnb|Cassidy|2005|pp=23, 29}}</ref> Oppenheimer was a versatile student, interested in English and French literature, and particularly [[mineralogy]].<ref>{{harvnb|Cassidy|2005|pp=16–17}}</ref> He completed third and fourth grades in one year and skipped half of eighth grade.<ref name="Cassidy 2005 35" /> He took private music lessons by famous French flutist [[Georges Barrère]]. During his final year of school, Oppenheimer became interested in chemistry.<ref>{{harvnb|Cassidy|2005|pp=43–46}}</ref> He graduated in 1921, but his further education was delayed a year by an attack of [[ulcerative colitis|colitis]] contracted while [[prospecting]] in [[Jáchymov]] during a family vacation in [[Czechoslovakia]]. He recovered in [[New Mexico]], where he developed a love for horseback riding and the southwestern United States.<ref>{{harvnb|Cassidy|2005|pp=61–63}}</ref>

Oppenheimer entered [[Harvard College]] in 1922 at age 18. He majored in chemistry; Harvard also required studies in history, literature, and philosophy or mathematics. To compensate for the delay caused by his illness, he took six courses each term instead of the usual four. He was admitted to the undergraduate honor society [[Phi Beta Kappa]] and was granted graduate standing in physics on the basis of independent study, allowing him to bypass basic courses in favor of advanced ones. He was attracted to experimental physics by a course on [[thermodynamics]] taught by [[Percy Williams Bridgman|Percy Bridgman]]. Oppenheimer graduated from Harvard in 1925 with a [[Bachelor of Arts]], ''[[summa cum laude]]'', after only three years of study.<ref>{{harvnb|Cassidy|2005|pp=75–76, 88–89}}</ref>