Oppenheimer & St. John, US Virgin Islands: An Island Roots Family Tidbit

Captains Log

Jul 28

Captain Jason’s brother, Adam, shares a unique history on St. John in the US Virgin Islands. Below are some of his thoughts.

•••

…In August of 1959, following his fateful Security Hearings, J. Robert Oppenheimer came to live with my family on the then remote Caribbean island of St. John.

Oppenheimer with his family on a St. John US Virgin Islands beach. — Oppenheimer with his wife, Kitty, and their children Toni and Peter on St. John.

For a period of time, Oppenheimer, his wife Kitty & their daughter Toni occupied the shared bedroom of my young father, the late John Gibney, & his brother Ed. Shortly thereafter, the family would sell a corner lot on their private land to Oppenheimer, where he would spend many of his remaining days, until his death in 1967.

I don’t really know too much about the relationship between my family and the Oppenheimers. Though I have memories of discussing this with my father, sadly he passed before I was ever able to ask too many questions.

John Gibney riding horseback with his son Adam on his land on St. John. — Adam riding horseback with his father, John Gibney, on St. John.

You can read about the friendship and feud that my family had with their infamous neighbor in the Pulitzer Prize winning “American Prometheus: The Triumph & Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer,” the source material for the new 2023 film, “Oppenheimer.”