---
born: 1908-01-15
category: Nuclear Scientists & Programs
died: 2003-09-09
location: Budapest, Hungary
summary: Edward Teller was a Hungarian-American theoretical physicist who is widely
  known as the 'father of the hydrogen bomb.' He and other American nuclear weapons
  designers understood well before the end of World War II that a far more powerful
  nuclear device, with fission as merely a first step, was theo
tags:
- Person
- Nuclear
- Physicist
- Israel
---

Edward Teller was a Hungarian-American theoretical physicist who is widely known as the "father of the hydrogen bomb." He and other American nuclear weapons designers understood well before the end of World War II that a far more powerful nuclear device, with fission as merely a first step, was theoretically possible. This new weapon, code-named "Super," was the hydrogen bomb, or fusion device.[^1]

[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 4.