1955: The Russell-Einstein Manifesto, calling for nuclear disarmament, an end to warfare in general and urging world leaders to seek peaceful resolutions to their conflicts, is issued at the height of the Cold War.
Alarmed by what they considered to be the growing threat of nuclear annihilation, 10 of the world's preeminent physicists (including a few who had worked on developing "the bomb") joined mathematician-philosopher-author Bertrand Russell in drafting the Manifesto, which was built around this basic question: "Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war?"
The document, written by Russell with a big assist from Albert Einstein, insisted the choice was as stark as that and it called for abolishing war, while at the same time acknowledging that this would be almost impossible to achieve. Certainly nothing in subsequent world history diminishes that logic.
The Manifesto maintained that scientists, especially, had a responsibility to speak out against technological threats, particularly nuclear threats, arguing that they understood the consequences far better than even the most astute layman.
All of the signatories to the Manifesto were Nobel laureates (or soon would be), including Russell and Einstein, who affixed his name to the document only days before his death on April 18, 1955.
One key line to the Manifesto resonates clearly to this day: "Remember your humanity, and forget the rest."
(Source: Wagingpeace.org)
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