[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 66 (Thursday, April 24, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E739]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         JOHN ARCHIBALD WHEELER

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. RUSH D. HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 22, 2008

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, on April 13, 2008, America lost one of its 
greatest scientific minds. Dr. John Archibald Wheeler influenced 
generations of scientists (including me) and his imprint on the field 
of physics and our collective understanding of the universe we inhabit 
cannot be overstated.
  Wheeler began his career in the company of men whose names are well 
known to history--Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein. Wheeler, who earned 
his Ph.D. in physics at age 21, went to Denmark a year after earning 
his degree to study under Bohr, who at the time was on the cutting edge 
of nuclear research. It was only after Bohr fled Denmark in 1939--just 
months before the Nazi occupation of the country--that Wheeler learned 
of the research Bohr and others had been conducting into the 
possibilities and ramifications of nuclear fission.
  Ultimately, Wheeler would join Robert Oppenheimer and others on the 
Manhattan Project, turning America into the world's first nuclear 
power. Later, Wheeler would play a key role the development of 
thermonuclear weapons and become an advocate of the war in Vietnam and 
of the creation of a ballistic missile defense system for the United 
States. But for all his work on weapons of war, his passion was trying 
to understand the workings of the universe.
  We owe the term ``black hole'' to Wheeler, who initially resisted the 
idea of the existence of these stellar phenomena but was ultimately 
persuaded of their existence by the mathematical work of Dr. David 
Finklestein and others. In this, Wheeler demonstrated the traits of the 
best scientists: a willingness to challenge, and ultimately change, his 
views based on the facts and evidence.
  When he reached Princeton University's mandatory retirement age in 
1976, Wheeler was not ready to walk away from the profession he loved. 
He moved to Texas, taking up residence at the University of Texas at 
Austin and continued his investigation into the workings of the 
universe, seeking to understand ``how everything fits together.'' He 
continued to teach, lecture, and write for many more years, and his 
influence on at least two generations of physicists will be felt for 
generations to come.
  Dr. Wheeler's wife of 72 years, the late Janette Hegner Wheeler, 
passed away in October 2007 at age 99. The Wheelers are survived by 
their three children, Ms. Lahnston and Letitia Wheeler Ufford, both of 
Princeton; James English Wheeler of Ardmore, Pa.; 8 grandchildren, 16 
great-grandchildren, 6 step-grandchildren and 11 step-great 
grandchildren.
  I am pleased to join my colleagues in honoring John Wheeler through 
H. Res. 1118. We can honor him best by recommitting ourselves to making 
America the world leader in scientific research and achievements, and I 
will certainly do all I can to make that another of Dr. Wheeler's 
lasting achievements.

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