Julius Rosenberg was an American engineer and a key figure in a controversial espionage case during the Cold War. Born on May 12, 1918, he was accused of passing atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, which heightened fears of nuclear warfare. In 1951, he and his wife, Ethel Rosenberg, were arrested and later tried for conspiracy to commit espionage. In 1953, Julius and Ethel were convicted and sentenced to death, making them the first American civilians executed for espionage. Their trial and execution sparked widespread debate about the fairness of the legal process and the implications of their actions during a tense period in U.S. history.