Frederick Martin Belmore, 87, whose work with uranium helped in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II, died of pneumonia Thursday, May 30, at the University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville. In 1943, Mr. Belmore was recruited for the top-secret Manhattan Project while working at DuPont Co. as an assistant chemical director. Mr. Belmore was considered an expert on lead, and scientists with the Manhattan Project thought working with uranium would be similar in many ways. Mr. Belmore oversaw the first large-scale production of pure uranium for atomic bomb components. The War Department awarded him the Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service for his work. “This was all top-secret, so he couldn’t tell his family” at the time, said his daughter-in-law Suzanne. “But he knew there was a war going on, and he thought this was his best use in the war effort.” After the war, Mr. Belmore was director of production for the Atomic Energy Commission during the late 1940s and early 1950s. He later worked for Mallinckrodt Nuclear Corp. in St. Louis, where he served as a vice president and later manager of Mallinckrodt Nuclear Co. In 1963 he began serving as president of The Matheson Co., an industrial gas company, in East Rutherford, N.J. Following a merger, Matheson became Will Ross, which eventually merged with G.D. Searle and Co. Inc. in Skokie. Mr. Belmore became a vice president and director at Searle. He retired in 1980. Survivors include a daughter, Charlie; two sons, Martin and Page Randolph; a brother, Brainard; and two grandchildren. A memorial service will be held in November in Greenwood, Va.
