  Robert A. Millikan (1868-1953) was the second American to win the Nobel Prize
in physics. At the peak of his influence, no scientist save Einstein was more
admired by the American public. Millikan, the head of the California Institute
of Technology (Caltech) during its first 24 years, oversaw its rapid growth
into one of the leading scientific institutions of the world. In response to
demands for social justice, Caltech reached a decision to strip Millikan of
honors (such as the library named after him), following accusations against
him.
  This article analyzes a specific accusation against Millikan that was
published in Nature: that he collaborated to deprive Japanese Americans of
their rights during their forced relocation to internment camps during the
Second World War. An examination of original historical sources will show that
this accusation is false. On the contrary, Millikan actively campaigned during
the war to promote the rights of Japanese Americans.
  The article also treats Caltech's central accusation against Millikan: he
lent his name to a morally reprehensible eugenics movement that had been
scientifically discredited in his time. In a reversal of Caltech's claims, this
article shows that all three of Caltech's scientific witnesses against eugenics
were actually pro-eugenic to varying degrees. Millikan's beliefs fell within
acceptable scientific norms of his day.
