John Aristotle Phillips

Last updated

John Aristotle Phillips (born August 23, 1955) is a U.S. entrepreneur specializing in political campaigns, who became famous for attempting to design a nuclear weapon while a student.

Contents

"A-Bomb Kid"

Phillips was born in August 1955 to Greek immigrant parents and raised in North Haven, Connecticut. [1] In 1976, while attending Princeton University as a junior undergraduate, he designed a nuclear weapon using publicly available books and papers. [2] In February 1977, several months after the story first went public, Phillips was contacted by a Pakistani official trying to purchase his bomb design, an incident addressed on the Senate floor by William Proxmire and Charles Percy. [3] Phillips was a celebrity by this time, dubbed The A-Bomb Kid by the media, [4] [5] and making a series of television appearances including a featured spot on the game show To Tell the Truth . [3]

Phillips was an underachieving student[ citation needed ] who played the tiger mascot at Princeton games. Hoping to stay at the school[ citation needed ], he proposed a term paper for a seminar on nuclear proliferation outlining the design for an atomic bomb similar to the Nagasaki weapon. Whether the weapon as designed would have actually exploded was questioned. Dr. Frank Chilton, a California nuclear scientist who at that time specialized in nuclear explosion engineering, said Phillips’s design was "pretty much guaranteed to work.". [6] The Federal Bureau of Investigation confiscated Phillips's term paper and a mockup he had constructed in his dormitory room. In 1979, Phillips published his story together with a co-author, David Michaelis, as Mushroom: The True Story of the A-Bomb Kid ( ISBN   0-671-82731-6 / ISBN   0-688-03351-2).

Political activity

Phillips parlayed his celebrity status into a brief career as an anti-nuclear activist. In 1980 and 1982, he ran for the United States House of Representatives as a Democratic Party candidate in Connecticut's 4th congressional district, losing both times to Republican Stewart McKinney. [7]

Aristotle, Inc.

The experience he had gained during his campaigns obtaining the voter list from the state and using it for campaign purposes led him and his brother Dean (who had written a program to handle the list on an Apple II) to found Aristotle, Inc. in 1983, [7] a non-partisan technology consulting firm for political campaigns which John Philips has since led as the CEO. It specializes in combining voter lists with personal data from other sources (such as income, gun ownership or church attendance) and data-mining, to assist with micro-targeting of specific voter groups; as of 2007, its database contained detailed information about ca. 175 million U.S. voters and it had about 100 employees. [7] Aristotle has served every occupant of the White House since Ronald Reagan, and consults for several top political action committees. [8]

In 1998 he spoke of the critical importance to a political campaign of targeting its advertising, including on the World Wide Web. [9] In 2009 he observed that 8.9% of registered voters in the United States are ineligible to vote because they have moved away or died. [10]

As of 2007, Phillips lived in San Francisco with his wife and daughter. [7]


See also

Related Research Articles

Peace Action is a peace organization whose focus is on preventing the deployment of nuclear weapons in space, thwarting weapons sales to countries with human rights violations, and promoting a new United States foreign policy based on common security and peaceful resolution to international conflicts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daisy (advertisement)</span> 1964 US presidential campaign advertisement

"Daisy", sometimes referred to as "Daisy Girl" or "Peace, Little Girl", is an American political advertisement that aired on television as part of Lyndon B. Johnson's 1964 presidential campaign. Though aired only once, it is considered one of the most important factors in Johnson's landslide victory over the Republican Party's candidate, Barry Goldwater, and a turning point in political and advertising history. A partnership between the Doyle Dane Bernbach agency and Tony Schwartz, the "Daisy" advertisement was designed to broadcast Johnson's anti-war and anti-nuclear positions. Goldwater was against the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and suggested the use of nuclear weapons in the Vietnam War, if necessary. The Johnson campaign used Goldwater's speeches to imply he would wage a nuclear war.

In political campaigns, an attack ad is an advertisement designed to wage a personal attack against an opposing candidate or political party in order to gain support for the attacking candidate and attract voters. Attack ads often form part of negative campaigning or smear campaigns, and in large or well-financed campaigns, may be disseminated via mass media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivy Mike</span> 1952 American nuclear test

Ivy Mike was the codename given to the first full-scale test of a thermonuclear device, in which part of the explosive yield comes from nuclear fusion. Ivy Mike was detonated on November 1, 1952, by the United States on the island of Elugelab in Enewetak Atoll, in the now independent island nation of the Marshall Islands, as part of Operation Ivy. It was the first full test of the Teller–Ulam design, a staged fusion device.

Lyndon LaRouche's United States presidential campaigns were a controversial staple of American politics between 1976 and 2004. LaRouche ran for president on eight consecutive occasions, a record for any candidate, and tied Harold Stassen's record as a perennial candidate. LaRouche ran for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States seven times, beginning in 1980.

<i>The Manhattan Project</i> (film) 1986 thriller film by Marshall Brickman

The Manhattan Project is a 1986 American thriller film. Named after the World War II-era program that constructed the first atomic bombs, the plot revolves around a gifted high school student who decides to construct an atomic bomb for a national science fair. It was directed by Marshall Brickman, based upon his screenplay co-written with Thomas Baum, and starred Christopher Collet, John Lithgow, John Mahoney, Jill Eikenberry and Cynthia Nixon. This film – a box-office bomb whose ticket sales recovered just 21 percent of its budget – was the first from the short-lived Gladden Entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear weapons in popular culture</span>

Since their public debut in August 1945, nuclear weapons and their potential effects have been a recurring motif in popular culture, to the extent that the decades of the Cold War are often referred to as the "atomic age".

<i>United States v. Progressive, Inc.</i> 1979 court case

United States of America v. Progressive, Inc., Erwin Knoll, Samuel Day, Jr., and Howard Morland, 467 F. Supp. 990, was a lawsuit brought against The Progressive magazine by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) in 1979. A temporary injunction was granted against The Progressive to prevent the publication of an article written by activist Howard Morland that purported to reveal the "secret" of the hydrogen bomb. Though the information had been compiled from publicly available sources, the DOE claimed that it fell under the "born secret" clause of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954.

"Born secret" and "born classified" are both terms which refer to a policy of information being classified from the moment of its inception, usually regardless of where it was created, and usually in reference to specific laws in the United States that are related to information that describes the operation of nuclear weapons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Morland</span> American journalist

Howard Morland is an American journalist and activist against nuclear weapons who, in 1979, became famous for apparently discovering the "secret" of the hydrogen bomb and publishing it after a lengthy censorship attempt by the Department of Energy. Because of some similarities in experience, he became outspoken in the protest against the detention of Mordechai Vanunu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Ludlam</span> Australian politician

Scott Ludlam is a New Zealand-born Australian former politician. A member of the Australian Greens, he was a senator in the Australian Senate from July 2008 to July 2017 and served as deputy leader of the Greens. Ludlam represented the state of Western Australia and resigned when it was found that he had been ineligible to sit in the Senate due to holding dual citizenship of New Zealand and Australia.

The 1964 presidential campaign of Barry Goldwater began when United States Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona elected to seek the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States to challenge incumbent Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson. Early on, before officially announcing his candidacy for the presidency, Goldwater was accused by Governor of New York Nelson Rockefeller of attempting to galvanize Southern and Western Republican support while neglecting the industrial northern states, eventually becoming one of Goldwater's primary opponents in the race for the Republican Party's nomination in 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aristotle, Inc.</span>

Aristotle, Inc. is a U.S. company founded and led by brothers John Aristotle Phillips and Dean Aristotle Phillips in 1983, specializing in data mining voter data for political campaigns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 United States presidential election in North Carolina</span>

The 1968 United States presidential election in North Carolina took place on November 5, 1968, and was part of the 1968 United States presidential election. Voters chose 13 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament</span> British organisation advocating unilateral nuclear disarmament

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. It opposes military action that may result in the use of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and the building of nuclear power stations in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1964 United States presidential election in Wisconsin</span> Election in Wisconsin

The 1964 United States presidential election in Wisconsin was held on November 3, 1964 as part of 1964 United States presidential election. State voters chose 12 electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monique Luiz</span> American former child model (born 1961)

Monique M. Luiz, also known as "Daisy Girl" or "Peace, Little Girl", is an American former child model best known for appearing in the "Daisy" advertisement, part of then incumbent president Lyndon B. Johnson's 1964 presidential campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1956 United States presidential election in Tennessee</span> Election in Tennessee

The 1956 United States presidential election in Tennessee took place on November 6, 1956, as part of the 1956 United States presidential election. Tennessee voters chose eleven representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1940 United States presidential election in Tennessee</span> Election in Tennessee

The 1940 United States presidential election in Tennessee took place on November 5, 1940, as part of the 1940 United States presidential election. Tennessee voters chose 11 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

David Tead Michaelis is an American writer since the late 1970s. As a biographer, Michealis wrote about N.C. Wyeth, Charles Schulz and Eleanor Roosevelt. He won the 1999 Ambassador Book Award in the Autobiography and Biography category with N.C. Wyeth: A Biography and was nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Biography in 2021 with Eleanor. With his non-fiction works, Michaelis also co-wrote John Aristotle Phillips's biography and solely wrote about male friendship.

References

  1. ↑ Vollers, Maryanne (August 7, 1980). "The A-Bomb Kid Runs for Congress". Rolling Stone . No. 323. Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc. pp. 42–43.
  2. ↑ "Student Designs Nuclear Bomb". Spokane Daily Chronicle : 2. October 9, 1976. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  3. 1 2 David Michaelis (July 18, 1977). "What's A Nice Kid Like John Phillips Doing With an A-Bomb?". New York . NYM Corporation. 10 (29): 66.
  4. ↑ Charles Peterson (May 8, 1977). "John Aristotle Phillips: The A-Bomb Kid". Youngstown Vindicator . Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  5. ↑ Collins, Paul (December 16, 2003). "The A-Bomb Kid". Village Voice.
  6. ↑ "Student Plans Complete Nuclear Bomb". Spokane Daily Chronicle. 9 October 1976. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 4 James Verini: Big Brother Inc.. Vanity Fair online, December 13, 2007
  8. ↑ Aristotle - Now You Know
  9. ↑ Lindlaw, Scott (June 17, 1998). "Politicians Slow to Embrace Web". Washington Post . Associated Press . Retrieved 2009-10-29. 'If you're advertising for Lands' End and you run an ad that doesn't appeal to 50 percent of viewers, all you're doing is wasting money,' said John Aristotle Phillips, president of Aristotle Publishing, which supplies Internet advertising. 'If you run an anti-abortion spot that offends viewers or gets out the vote you don't want, you're not just wasting money, you're losing the election.'
  10. ↑ Harper, Jennifer (October 29, 2009). "Inside the Beltway - THEY'RE ALL GONERS". Washington Times . p. A9. Uh-oh. Zombie voters walk. The nonpartisan research group Aristotle International compared federal, state and local lists of deceased or relocated voters to reveal Wednesday that 16,331,707 (or 8.9 percent ) of all registered voters are 'deadwood' - a 3 percent increase compared to last year. In all, nearly 10 percent of voters listed on registration rolls are ineligible to vote. "Deadwood on voter rolls complicates the electoral process and can cause problems like fraud and vote miscounts. It always creates a perception of low voter turnout," company CEO John Aristotle Phillips tells Beltway "It gets down to this: by depressing turnout, dead voters make the rest of us look bad." They also deplete campaign funds.

Further reading


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.