Albert Smith Bigelow (1 May 1906 – 6 October 1993) was a
pacifist
Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
and former
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
Commander, who came to prominence in the 1950s as the skipper of the ''
Golden Rule'', the first vessel to attempt disruption of a
nuclear test
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detonations are affected by ...
in protest against
nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...
s.
Early life
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 1908-1914. His sister was Martha Bigelow, who married
Theodore L. Eliot, the grandson of
Charles William Eliot
Charles William Eliot (March 20, 1834 – August 22, 1926) was an American academic who was president of Harvard University from 1869 to 1909the longest term of any Harvard president. A member of the prominent Eliot family of Boston, he transfo ...
, president of
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
.
Bigelow was a graduate of both
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, in 1929, and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
with a degree in architecture.
While at Harvard, he was a member of the
Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770,
Stylus
A stylus (plural styli or styluses) is a writing utensil or a small tool for some other form of marking or shaping, for example, in pottery. It can also be a computer accessory that is used to assist in navigating or providing more precision w ...
, Iroquois and Fly Clubs, as well as a member of the Harvard hockey team.
In 1937, Bigelow and his twin brother Hugh entered into discussions to play the Tarleton twins, characters in
David O. Selznick's planned film ''
Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind most often refers to:
* ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell
* ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel
Gone with the Wind may also refer to:
Music
* ''Gone with the Wind'' ...
''. However, their apparently exorbitant salary demands and disdainful attitude toward the motion picture business turned Selznick against the idea. The roles were ultimately played by
George Reeves
George Reeves (born George Keefer Brewer; January 5, 1914 – June 16, 1959) was an American actor. He is best known for portraying Superman in the television series '' Adventures of Superman'' (1952–1958).
His death at age 45 from a g ...
and
Fred Crane.
Involvement in peace movement
Prior to his involvement in the
peace movement
A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals, such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world peac ...
, Bigelow served in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, first as commander of a submarine chaser patrolling the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
, and later as captain of the destroyer escort On August 6, 1945, Bigelow was on the bridge of the ''Peterson'' as it sailed into
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...
, when he heard news of the
explosion of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima. He resigned from the US Naval Reserve a month before becoming eligible for his pension.
In 1948, Bigelow's wife, Sylvia, joined the Religious Society of Friends
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...
. Bigelow joined in 1955. It was through the Society of Friends that Albert and Sylvia came to house two of the Hiroshima Maidens
The Hiroshima Maidens ( ja, 原爆乙女(''Genbaku otome''); "atomic bomb maidens") are a group of 25 Japanese women who were school age girls when they were seriously disfigured as a result of the thermal flash of the fission bomb dropped on ...
: 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 the American Friends Service Committee
The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a Religious Society of Friends (''Quaker'') founded organization working for peace and social justice in the United States and around the world. AFSC was founded in 1917 as a combined effort by Am ...
in the mid-1950s, attempting to deliver a 17,411 signature petition, opposing atmospheric nuclear tests, to the White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
via Maxwell 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 formed Committee for Non-Violent Action
The Committee for Non-Violent Action (CNVA) was an American anti-war group, formed in 1957 to resist the US government's program of nuclear weapons testing. It was one of the first organizations to employ nonviolent direct action to protest aga ...
were arrested when they attempted to enter the Camp Mercury nuclear test site in Nevada, as part of a nonviolent
Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
vigil against the testing. The following day, they returned and sat with their backs towards the site as the nuclear test took place.[
]
Sailing ''The Golden Rule''
In February, 1958, Bigelow set sail for the Eniwetok
Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with it ...
Proving Ground, the Atomic Energy Commission's atmospheric test site in the Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...
, in the '' Golden Rule'', a ketch
A ketch is a two- masted sailboat whose mainmast is taller than the mizzen mast (or aft-mast), and whose mizzen mast is stepped forward of the rudder post. The mizzen mast stepped forward of the rudder post is what distinguishes the ketch fr ...
. He was accompanied by crew members James Peck, George Willoughby, William R. Huntington, and Orion Sherwood. The voyage had been deliberately and widely publicized, and while the ''Golden Rule'' was en route to Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
, the Atomic Energy Commission hastily issued a regulation banning US citizens from sailing into the Proving Grounds.
When they arrived in Hawaii, the crew of the ''Golden 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 the ''Golden Rule'' was intercepted by the US Coast Guard only 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.
But while the ''Golden Rule'' was docked in Honolulu, Bigelow and crew had met Earle and Barbara Reynolds
Eva Mary Barbara Reynolds (13 June 1914 – 29 April 2015) was an English scholar of Italian Studies, lexicographer and translator. She wrote and edited several books concerning Dorothy Sayers and was president of the Dorothy L. Sayers Soci ...
. Earle L. Reynolds was an anthropologist
An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...
who had visited Hiroshima to study the effects of the atomic bomb on Japanese society. Hearing of the plight of the ''Golden Rule'', Earle and Barbara were inspired to take their own nonviolent action, and later that year their yacht, the '' Phoenix 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 at Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll ( or ; Marshallese: , , meaning "coconut place"), sometimes known as Eschscholtz Atoll between the 1800s and 1946 is a coral reef in the Marshall Islands consisting of 23 islands surrounding a central lagoon. After the Second ...
.[ Earle was arrested and sentenced to six months in jail.]
In 1959, Bigelow published a book, ''Voyage of the Golden Rule''[ which documented his journey. Bigelow's story would go on to inspire fellow Quaker Marie Bohlen to suggest the use of a similar tactic to members of the Vancouver-based ]Don't Make a Wave Committee
The Don't Make a Wave Committee was the name of the anti-nuclear organization which later evolved into Greenpeace, a global environmental organization. The Don't Make a Wave Committee was founded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to protest ...
(later to become Greenpeace
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...
) in 1970.
Bigelow continued to take part in non-violent protests during the late 1950s and early 1960s, and was a participant in the Freedom Rides
Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated Southern United States in 1961 and subsequent years to challenge the non-enforcement of the United States Supreme Court decisions '' Morgan v. Virginia ...
organized by the Congress on Racial Equality
The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States that played a pivotal role for African Americans in the civil rights movement. Founded in 1942, its stated mission is "to bring about ...
in 1961.
In his later years, from 1971 to 1975, he was a trustee to The Meeting School, a Quaker school in Rindge, New Hampshire
Rindge is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,476 at the 2020 census, up from 6,014 at the 2010 census. Rindge is home to Franklin Pierce University, the Cathedral of the Pines and part of Annett State ...
.
Personal life
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 the Junior League
The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. (Junior League or JL) is a private, nonprofit educational women's volunteer organization aimed at improving communities and the social, cultural, and political fabric of civil society. With ...
and Vincent Club of Boston. She, however, had resumed her affair with Harry Crosby
Harry Crosby (June 4, 1898 – December 10, 1929) was an American heir, World War I veteran, ''bon vivant'', poet, and publisher who for some epitomized the Lost Generation in American literature. He was the son of one of the richest banking fam ...
within two months of their marriage, and then, on 10 December that year she and Crosby were found dead in an apparent murder suicide.
Two years later, Albert married Sylvia Weld, daughter of Rudolph and Sylvia Caroline (née Parsons) Weld, on September 10, 1931. Sylvia was a granddaughter of Gen. William Barclay Parsons
William Barclay Parsons (April 15, 1859 – May 9, 1932) was an American civil engineer. He founded Parsons Brinckerhoff, one of the largest American civil engineering firms.
Personal life
Parsons was the son of William Barclay Parsons (1828– ...
(1859–1932), the chief engineer of New York's first subway. Her great-grandparents were William Barclay Parsons (1828–1887) and Eliza (née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Livingston
Livingston may refer to:
Businesses
* Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010)
* Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline
* Livingston International, a North American custom ...
) 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 in Walpole, Massachusetts
Walpole is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Walpole Town, as the Census refers to it, is located about south of downtown Boston and north of Providence, Rhode Island. The population of Walpole was 26,383 at the 2020 censu ...
in 1993.
See also
* List of peace activists
This list of peace activists includes people who have proactively advocated diplomatic, philosophical, and non-military resolution of major territorial or ideological disputes through nonviolent means and methods. Peace activists usually work ...
References
External links
Papers of Albert Bigelow, Swarthmore College Peace Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bigelow, Albert
United States Navy officers
American anti–nuclear weapons activists
American travel writers
American Christian pacifists
American Quakers
Converts to Quakerism
Nonviolence advocates
1906 births
1993 deaths
War Resisters League activists
Activists from Massachusetts
20th-century American male writers
Harvard University alumni
MIT School of Architecture and Planning alumni
20th-century American non-fiction writers
American male non-fiction writers
Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey players
20th-century Quakers
Freedom Riders