1954

First nuclear power stations supplying civil energy

The first nuclear reactor was built at the University of Chicago in 1942 to fulfil military needs. 1951 saw the first nuclear energy generated, in the United States. In 1954 the Soviet Union built the first civil nuclear power station to be connected to the power grid. The United Kingdom followed suite in 1956 before the United States in 1957 and France in 1963, with the Chinon power station. This marked the beginning of the industrial development of nuclear power.