December 2, 1942 Dr. Enrico Fermi achieves the first controlled nuclear chain reaction with the first demonstration reactor—the Chicago Pile 1.

July 16, 1945 Trinity Test of the first atomic explosive device at Alamogordo, New Mexico.

August 6, 1945 The U.S. drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, and three days later drops another bomb on Nagasaki. World War II ends days later.

August 1, 1946 President Harry S. Truman signs the Atomic Energy Act of 1946, putting the fledgling nuclear energy industry under civilian control, and creating the powerful Joint Congressional Committee on Atomic Energy.

October 6, 1947 The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission first investigates the possibility of peaceful uses of atomic energy, issuing a report the following year.

The '50s

December 20, 1951 An experimental reactor produces the first electric power from the atom, lighting four light bulbs.

June 14, 1952 Keel for the Navy’s first nuclear submarine, Nautilus, laid at Groton, Connecticut.

March 30, 1953 Nautilus first starts its nuclear power units.

December 8, 1953 President Dwight D. Eisenhower unveils his "Atoms-for-Peace" program, proposing an international agency to develop peaceful nuclear technologies.

August 30, 1954 President Eisenhower signs the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, the first major amendment of the original Atomic Energy Act, giving the civilian nuclear energy program further access to nuclear technology.

January 10, 1955 The Atomic Energy Commission announces the beginning of a cooperative program between government and industry to develop nuclear power plants.

July 17, 1955 The first U.S. town is powered by nuclear energy—Arco, Idaho, population 1,000—by the experimental boiling water reactor BORAX III.

August 8-20, 1955 The first international conference on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy is held in Geneva, Switzerland, sponsored by the United Nations.

July 12, 1957 The first power from a civilian nuclear unit is generated by the Sodium Reactor Experiment at Santa Susana, California. The unit provided power until 1966.

September 2, 1957 President Eisenhower signs into law the Price-Anderson Act, legislation to protect the public, utilities and contractors financially in the event of an accident at a nuclear power plant.

December 2, 1957 The first full-scale nuclear power plant at Shippingport, Pennsylvania, goes into service. Twenty-one days later it reaches full power, generating 60 megawatts of electricity.

May 22, 1958 Keel is laid for the first nuclear-powered merchant vessel, Savannah, at Camden, New Jersey. She is launched on July 21, 1959, and operates for 12 years, calling at most major ports of the world.

October 15, 1959 Dresden-1 Nuclear Power Station in Illinois, the first U.S. plant built entirely without government funding, achieves a self-sustaining nuclear reaction.

The '60s

February 16, 1960 The Atomic Energy Commission publishes its 10-year plan for nuclear energy.

August 19, 1960 The third U.S. nuclear power plant, Yankee Nuclear Power Station in Rowe, Massachusetts, achieves a self-sustaining nuclear reaction.

Early 1960s Small nuclear-power generators are first used in remote areas to power weather stations and to light buoys for sea navigation.

March 17, 1962 President John F. Kennedy asks the Atomic Energy Commission to report on the role of nuclear energy in the economy.

December 12, 1963 Jersey Central Power and Light Company announces its commitment for the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant, the first time a nuclear plant is ordered as an economical alternative to a fossil-fuel plant.

August 26, 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Private Ownership of Special Nuclear Materials Act, which allows the nuclear energy industry to own the fuel for its units. After June 30, 1973, private ownership of the uranium fuel is mandatory.

October 1964 Three surface ships powered by the atom—Enterprise, Long Beach and Bainbridge—complete a round-the-world cruise without any logistical support.

December 16, 1964 The Atomic Energy Commission issues Oyster Creek nuclear power plant's construction permit.

April 3, 1965 First nuclear reactor operates in space.

November 1965 The Atomic Energy Commission gives the Liquid Metal Fast Breeder reactor highest priority and decides to build the Fast Flux Test Facility. The facility begins operation in April 1982.

November 9, 1965 The first major electrical blackout occurs in the Northeast United States.

The '70s

April 20, 1970 The first Earth Day is celebrated.

September 23, 1970 Electricity "brownouts" hit the Northeast during a heat wave.

June 4, 1971 President Richard M. Nixon announces a national goal of completing the Liquid Metal Fast Breeder unit by 1980.

June 29, 1973 President Nixon proposes to replace the Atomic Energy Commission with the Energy Research and Development Administration and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

October 17, 1973 The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agrees to use oil as a foreign policy weapon, cutting exports 5 percent until Israel withdraws from Arab territory occupied during the Yom Kippur War. Days later Saudi Arabia cuts oil production by 25 percent and joins many other oil-producing nations in embargoing oil shipments to the United States.

1973 U.S. utilities order 41 nuclear power plants, a one-year record.

1974 The first 1,000-MWe nuclear plant goes into service—Commonwealth Edison’s Zion 1 plant.

October 11, 1974 President Gerald Ford abolishes the Atomic Energy Commission and creates in its place the Energy Research and Development Administration and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to begin regulating the nuclear industry. The Joint Congressional Committee on Atomic Energy is also abolished.

January 19, 1975 Energy Research and Development Administration begins operating.

April 7, 1977 President Jimmy Carter announces a new policy banning reprocessing of used nuclear fuel.

August 4, 1977 President Carter combines the Energy Research and Development Administration with the Federal Energy Administration, creating the Department of Energy.

March 28, 1979 A major accident occurs at Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Damage is limited to inside the reactor, and no one is injured.

October 1979 The U.S. nuclear energy industry creates the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations to address issues of safety and performance.

The '80s

1980 Nuclear energy generates more electricity than oil.

October 8, 1981 President Ronald Reagan's administration lifts the ban on reprocessing used nuclear fuel and announces a policy that anticipates the need for a high-level radioactive waste storage facility.

January 7, 1983 President Reagan signs into law the Nuclear Waste Policy Act.

October 26, 1983 Funding for the Clinch River Breeder Reactor project is killed by Congress.

1983 Nuclear energy generates more electricity than natural gas.

1984 The atom overtakes hydropower to become the second-largest source of electricity, after coal.

1985 The Institute of Nuclear Power Operations forms a national academy—the National Academy for Nuclear Training—to accredit every nuclear power plant's training program.

1986 The Perry power plant in Ohio becomes the 100th U.S. nuclear power plant in operation.

1988 U.S. electricity demand is 50 percent higher than in 1973.

1989 America’s nuclear power plants provide 19 percent of the electricity used in the United States; 46 units have entered service during the decade.

The '90s

1991 America’s nuclear power plants set record for amount of electricity generated, surpassing the 1956 level for all fuel sources combined.

1992 Nuclear power plants account for about 20 percent of all electricity used in the United States.

August 1992 The fourth and final standardized nuclear power plant design is submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for certification and approval. Getting the plant designs approved by the NRC is a step toward building uniform nuclear power plants in the United States.

October 24, 1992 President George Bush signs into law the Energy Policy Act, which sets the U.S. on course for planning its energy needs, and reforms the licensing process for advanced, standardized nuclear power plants. The updated process affords the public more timely opportunities to participate in decisions to build new nuclear plants and is expected to create a more stable financial environment for investors.

March 1993 The nuclear energy industry positions itself for the future when 16 nuclear utilities sign the first of two contracts with U.S. nuclear plant manufacturers—each agreeing to develop first-of-a-kind engineering on two advanced plant designs. General Electric signs in March and Westinghouse signs in June.

April 6, 1993 Another nuclear power plant—the Comanche Peak Unit 2 in Glen Rose, Texas—goes on line, providing 1,150 megawatts of electricity to U.S. consumers.

December 1993 In 1993, two decades after the first oil embargo, the 109 nuclear power plants operating in the United States generate 610 billion kilowatt-hours of net electricity, providing about one-fifth of the nation’s electricity.

Jan. 14, 1994 More than a half century after President Eisenhower stood before the United Nations and urged the countries of the world to take nuclear materials "out of the hands of the soldiers...[and place them] into the hands of those who will...adapt [them] to the arts of peace," the U.S. again leads the world in promoting the peaceful uses of nuclear technology by signing a contract to buy uranium from the Russian Federation that could be blended down into power plant fuel, ensuring it will never again be used for warheads.

July 1994 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issues final design approval for the first two of four advanced nuclear power plant designs—General Electric’s Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) and ABB Combustion Engineering's System 80+. The approval means that all major design and safety issues have been resolved to the satisfaction of the NRC staff and the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards. The two plants are the first to obtain final design approval under the NRC’s new regulations for licensing standardized plant designs. The NRC will now prepare a rulemaking, which will include public comment, to codify the designs.

April 7, 1995 The NRC publishes proposed design certification rules for General Electric’s Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) and ABB Combustion Engineering’s System 80+ plant designs. These rulemakings will codify the ABWR and System 80+ final design approvals issued in 1994. Certification is expected in 1996.

February 9, 1996 The NRC grants the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) a full-power license for its Watts Bar 1 nuclear power plant, bringing the number of operating nuclear units in the United States to 110.

September 30, 1996 First-of-a-kind engineering design is completed for the GE Advanced Boiling Water Reactor.

November 7, 1996 Kashiwazaki-Kariwa 6, the world’s first Advanced Boiling Water Reactor, begins commercial service in Japan—ahead of schedule and under budget.

May 12, 1997 The NRC issues design certification for the General Electric Advanced Boiling Water Reactor. It is valid for the next 15 years.

May 20, 1997 The NRC issues design certification for the ABB Combustion Engineering System 80+. It is valid for the next 15 years.

January 12, 1998 President Clinton certifies that China supports international nuclear nonproliferation efforts, paving the way for the sale of U.S. nuclear technology to that country.

April 10, 1998 Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. submits an application to the NRC to renew the license of its two-unit Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant—the first U.S. company to apply for a 20-year extension of its 40-year license.

July 7, 1998 Duke Power Co. submits an application to the NRC to renew the license of its three-unit Oconee nuclear power plant.

July 13, 1999 Entergy Nuclear closes on its purchase of the Pilgrim Station from Boston Edison Co., the first completed nuclear plant sale in the nation.

2000: First Decade

March 23, 2000 The NRC issues the first-ever license renewal to Constellation Energy’s Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, allowing an additional 20 years of operation.

May 23, 2000 The NRC approves a 20-year extension to the operating license of Duke Energy’s three-unit Oconee Nuclear Station.