Herman Kahn

Herman Kahn (1922 to 1983) was an American physicist and a founding member of the Hudson Institute, regarded as an eminent futurist of the latter part of the twentieth century. He first came to prominence as a military strategist and systems theorist while employed at the RAND Corporation, where he analyzed the likely consequences of nuclear war and recommended ways to improve survivability during the Cold War. He set out the idea of a winnable nuclear exchange in his 1960 book On Thermonuclear War, and he was one of the historical inspirations for the title character of the film Dr. Strangelove. His theories contributed to the development of the nuclear strategy of the United States.