Chicago Pile -1 (CP-1) Signed Chianti Bottle
This empty bottle of Chianti Bertolli wine was signed by scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project. On Wednesday, December 2, 1942, the world's first, man-made, controlled nuclear chain reaction was achieved by the first atomic reactor, Chicago Pile -1 (CP-1), at 3:22 p.m. under the direction of physicist Enrico Fermi at the University of Chicago's Stagg Field. Afterwards, physicist Eugene Wigner opened a bottle of chianti he had earlier purchased in honor of Fermi. Fermi, Wigner, and the other Metallurgical Laboratory scientists drank a silent toast from paper cups to recognize their world-changing achievement. The bottle's basket bears the signatures of the scientists and staff present at the historic experiment.
Signed empty bottle of Chianti Bertolli. National Archives Identifier: 594769
View and download other images of the Signed Chianti Bottle on the National Archives Catalog. This item is one example of the many records held in Records of the Atomic Energy Commission Files in the National Archives at Chicago, IL. You can explore more of our holdings by visiting our online Catalog or by visiting our research room in person. This bottle is located within Record Group 326: Records of the Atomic Energy Commission, Series: Program Correspondence Files, 1942–1988, and the photograph is part of Photographs Relating to Scientific Work, Professional Meetings, Publicity, and Other Activities, 1942–1972. Many of the records in this collection have yet to be digitized. We encourage researchers to visit us onsite or contact us remotely to explore these records and learn more about the archival collections held in the National Archives at Chicago.