---
born: 1906-07-02
category: Nuclear Scientists & Programs
died: 2005-03-06
location: Strasbourg, Alsace-Lorraine (now France)
summary: Hans Bethe was a German-American theoretical physicist who won the Nobel
  Prize in Physics in 1967.
tags:
- Person
- Nuclear
- Physicist
- Israel
---

Hans Bethe was a German-American theoretical physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1967. He helped design the first American nuclear and thermonuclear weapons. Bethe recalled three visits to the [Weizmann Institute of Science](/organizations/weizmann-institute-of-science/) where his hosts would "take me anywhere and discuss anything with me." However, they never offered to take him to [Dimona](/places/dimona/), which Bethe found significant, as he was interested in nuclear power reactors.[^1]

[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 15.