Albert Bigelow | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1906-05-01)May 1, 1906 |
| Died | October 6, 1993(1993-10-06) (aged 87) |
| Alma mater | Harvard University Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent(s) | Albert Francis Bigelow Gladys Williams |
Albert Smith Bigelow (1 May 1906 – 6 October 1993) was apacifist and formerUnited States NavyCommander, who came to prominence in the 1950s as the skipper of theGolden Rule, the first vessel to attempt disruption of anuclear test in protest againstnuclear weapons.[1]
Bigelow (1906-1993) was the son of Albert Francis Bigelow (1880-1958), and Gladys Williams. Albert's father was a partner in the Boston law firm Warren, Hogue & Bigelow from 1908 to 1914.[2] His sister was Martha Bigelow, who marriedTheodore L. Eliot, the grandson ofCharles William Eliot, president ofHarvard.[3]
Bigelow was a graduate of bothHarvard University, in 1929, and theMassachusetts Institute of Technology[4] with a degree in architecture.[5] While at Harvard, he was a member of theHasty Pudding Institute of 1770,Stylus, Iroquois and Fly Clubs, as well as a member of the Harvard hockey team.[6]
Bigelow served in theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II, first as commander of a submarine chaser patrolling theSolomon Islands, and later as captain of the destroyer escortUSS Dale W. Peterson On August 6, 1945, Bigelow was on the bridge of thePeterson as it sailed intoPearl Harbor, when he heard news of theexplosion of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima. He resigned from the US Naval Reserve a month before becoming eligible for his pension.[1][7]
In 1948, Bigelow's wife, Sylvia, joined theReligious Society of Friends. Bigelow joined in 1955. It was through the Society of Friends that Albert and Sylvia came to house two of theHiroshima Maidens: young Japanese women, severely disfigured by the effects of the atomic bomb, who were brought to the United States to undergo plastic surgery in 1955. Bigelow was humbled by the experience, in particular by his realization that the two young women "harbored no resentment against us or other Americans".
Bigelow became involved with theAmerican Friends Service Committee in the mid-1950s, attempting to deliver a 17,411 signature petition, opposing atmospheric nuclear tests, to theWhite House viaMaxwell M. Rabb,Cabinet Secretary. Repeated attempts to gain an appointment with Rabb were unsuccessful, leading Bigelow to conclude that other measures must be taken.
On August 6, 1957, on the 12th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, Bigelow and twelve other members of the newly formedCommittee for Non-Violent Action were arrested when they attempted to enter the Camp Mercury nuclear test site in Nevada, as part of anonviolent vigil against the testing.[7] The following day, they returned and sat with their backs towards the site as the nuclear test took place.[1][8]
In February, 1958, Bigelow set sail for theEniwetok Proving Ground, the Atomic Energy Commission's atmospheric test site in theMarshall Islands, in theGolden Rule, a 30-foot (9 m)ketch. He was accompanied by crew membersJames Peck,George Willoughby,William R. Huntington, andOrion Sherwood. The voyage had been deliberately and widely publicized, and while theGolden Rule was en route toHawaii, the Atomic Energy Commission hastily issued a regulation banning US citizens from sailing into the Proving Grounds.[1][7]
When they arrived in Hawaii, the crew of theGolden Rule were issued a court summons, resulting in a temporary injunction against any attempt to sail to the test site. Bigelow chose to break the injunction on May 1, but theGolden Rule was intercepted by the US Coast Guard only 5 nautical miles (9 km) from Honolulu. A second attempt on June 4 was also unsuccessful – the crew were arrested, charged with contempt of court and sentenced to sixty days in jail.[1][7]
But while theGolden Rule was docked in Honolulu, Bigelow and crew had metEarle andBarbara Reynolds. Earle L. Reynolds was ananthropologist who had visited Hiroshima to study the effects of the atomic bomb on Japanese society. Hearing of the plight of theGolden Rule, Earle and Barbara were inspired to take their own nonviolent action, and later that year their yacht, thePhoenix of Hiroshima became the first vessel to enter a nuclear test zone in protest when they sailed sixty-five nautical miles into the test area atBikini Atoll.[1] Earle was arrested and sentenced to six months in jail.[7]
In 1959, Bigelow published a book,Voyage of the Golden Rule[1] which documented his journey. Bigelow's story would go on to inspire fellow QuakerMarie Bohlen to suggest the use of a similar tactic to members of the Vancouver-basedDon't Make a Wave Committee (later to becomeGreenpeace) in 1970.
Bigelow continued to take part in non-violent protests during the late 1950s and early 1960s, and was a participant in theFreedom Rides organized by theCongress on Racial Equality in 1961.[9]
In his later years, from 1971 to 1975, he was a trustee toThe Meeting School, a Quaker school inRindge, New Hampshire.
Bigelow married his first wife, Josephine Rotch, the daughter of Arthur and Helen (née Ludington) Rotch, on June 21, 1929. She was a debutante of 1927 and was a member of theJunior League andVincent Club of Boston.[6] She, however, had resumed her affair withHarry Crosby within two months of their marriage, and then, on 10 December that year she and Crosby were found dead in an apparent murder suicide.[10][11]
Two years later, Albert married Sylvia Weld, daughter of Rudolph and Sylvia Caroline (née Parsons) Weld, on September 10, 1931.[3] Sylvia was a granddaughter of Gen.William Barclay Parsons (1859–1932), the chief engineer of New York's first subway. Her great-grandparents were William Barclay Parsons (1828–1887) and Eliza (néeLivingston) Parsons. Together, they had three daughters, Lisa, Kate, and Mary, their youngest, who died when she was seven months old.
Bigelow died, aged 87, at a nursing home inWalpole, Massachusetts in 1993.[4]
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