science · 08 December 1953 · 71 years ago
In 1953, President Dwight Eisenhower gave his “Atoms for Peace” speech in an address before the General Assembly of the United Nations. He proposed the establishment of the International Atomic Energy Agency to devise “methods whereby this fissionable material would be allocated to serve the peaceful pursuits of mankind ... to apply atomic energy to the needs of agriculture, medicine and other peaceful activities. A special purpose would be to provide abundant electrical energy in the power-starved areas of the world.” This initiated commercial nuclear power. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. Congress passed the 1954 Atomic Energy Act which permitted, for the first time, the wide use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes.
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