Leslie Groves (18961970) was a U.S.

Army Corps of Engineers officer who oversaw t

he construction of the Pentagon and directed the Manhattan Project that develope
d the atomic bomb. After joining the Corps of Engineers and assisting with proje
cts in Nicaragua, he was posted to the War Department General Staff. In 1940, he
became special assistant for construction to the Quartermaster General. He was
given responsibility in 1941 for the gigantic office complex to house the War De
partment's 40,000 staff which would ultimately become the Pentagon. In September
1942, Groves took charge of the Manhattan Project and was involved in most aspe
cts of the atomic bomb's development, including the acquisition of raw materials
and selection of target cities in Japan. He remained in charge of the project u
ntil the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission assumed responsibility for nuclear weapon
s production in 1947. He then headed the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project, c
reated to control the military aspects of nuclear weapons.