Robert Goddard
5 October 1882 – 10 August 1945
Robert Hutchings Goddard (1882-1945) was an American engineer, professor, and physicist credited with creating and building the world's first liquid-fueled rocket. He launched it in 1926, and his pioneering work in rocketry laid foundational principles for the space age. He held over 200 patents and is regarded as one of the founding fathers of modern rocketry.
Lived at the same time
Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Robert Goddard.
- David Lloyd George (1863–1945) Overlapped 63 years →
- Frances Perkins (1880–1965) Overlapped 63 years →
- Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) Overlapped 63 years →
- Henri Matisse (1869–1954) Overlapped 63 years →
- Max Born (1882–1970) Overlapped 63 years →
- Theodore von Kármán (1881–1963) Overlapped 63 years →
Life events
Robert Hutchings Goddard was born in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgAs a teenager, reading H. G. Wells sparked his lifelong fascination with spaceflight, later reinforced by a vision in a cherry tree.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgGoddard received his doctorate in physics from Clark University in Worcester.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHis Smithsonian monograph laid out the mathematics of rocket flight and suggested a rocket could reach the Moon, drawing public ridicule.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgGoddard married Esther Kisk, who assisted with his work and photographed many of his rocket launches.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgAt his Aunt Effie's farm in Auburn, Massachusetts, Goddard launched the first liquid-propellant rocket, which rose about 41 feet.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgWith Guggenheim funding secured through Charles Lindbergh, Goddard moved his testing operations to Roswell for more space and privacy.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgDuring the 1930s his Roswell rockets reached high altitudes and used gyroscopic guidance systems he developed.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgGoddard died of throat cancer in Baltimore during World War II.
Source: en.wikipedia.org