On This Day: First Nuclear Reactor (1942)

Enrico Fermi started the first controlled nuclear chain reaction in a squash court under Stagg Field.

Chicago Pile-1, the world's first nuclear reactor, went critical on December 2, 1942, in a converted squash court under the stands of Stagg Field at the University of Chicago. The experiment confirmed that a sustained nuclear chain reaction was possible and provided the critical proof of concept for