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The Brilliant Spy-Scientist Who Helped Build the Atomic Bomb and Betrayed His Country
The Early Life of Theodore Hall
Theodore Hall was born in New York City in 1925 to a family of Jewish immigrants. From an early age, he displayed an incredible aptitude for mathematics and science. As a teenager, he taught himself calculus and was accepted into Harvard University at the age of 16.
At Harvard, Hall studied under the legendary physicist Julian Schwinger and quickly distinguished himself as one of the brightest minds in the physics department. He was especially interested in quantum mechanics and worked on several research projects related to the field. However, Hall was also a committed Communist and became involved in left-wing political groups while at Harvard.
After two years at Harvard, Hall transferred to the University of California, Berkeley, where he continued his studies in physics. At Berkeley, he worked with several other future luminaries in the field, including Luis Alvarez and Robert Serber. Hall completed his undergraduate degree in just two years and then enrolled in a Ph.D. program at Berkeley, where he continued to work on quantum mechanics and other topics related to theoretical physics.
