Kalpana Chawla (1962 - 2003)

In 1988, Kalpana Chawla began working at the NASA Ames Research Center, where she did Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) research on Vertical/Short Takeoff and Landing concepts. In 1993, she joined Overset Methods, Inc. as Vice President and Research Scientist specializing in simulation of moving multiple body problems. Chawla held a Certificated Flight Instructor rating for […]

Michael Anderson (1959 - 2003)

Michael Anderson graduated from the University of Washington in 1981 and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. After completing a year of technical training at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, he was assigned to Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. At Randolph he served as Chief of Communication Maintenance for the 2015th […]

Ilan Ramon (1954 - 2003)

Ilan Ramon was a Colonel (Aluf Mishne) and a fighter pilot in the Israeli Air Force, with thousands of hours of flying experience. In 1974, he graduated as a fighter pilot from the Israel Air Force (IAF) Flight School. From 1974–76 he participated in A-4 Basic Training and Operations. 1976–80 was spent in Mirage III-C […]

Rick Husband (1957 - 2003)

After graduating from Texas Tech University, Rick Husband was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force and attended pilot training at Vance Air Force Base (AFB) in Oklahoma. He finished his training there in October 1981, and was assigned to F-4 Phantom II training at Homestead Air Force Base in Florida. […]

Laurel Clark (1961 - 2003)

During medical school Laurel Clark did active duty training with the Diving Medicine Department at the United States Navy Experimental Diving Unit in March 1987. After completing medical school, Clark underwent postgraduate medical education in pediatrics from 1987 to 1988 at the National Naval Medical Center. The following year she completed Navy undersea medical officer […]

James Irwin (1930 - 1991)

James Irwin was one of the 19 astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966. He served as a member of the astronaut support crew for Apollo 10, the first mission to carry the full Apollo stack to the Moon and the dry run for the first manned Moon landing. He then served as backup Lunar […]

Donald Slayton (1924 - 1993)

In 1959, Donald Slayton was one of 110 military test pilots selected by their commanding officers as candidates for the newly formed National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Project Mercury, the first U.S. manned space flight program. Following a gruelling series of physical and psychological tests, NASA selected Slayton to be one of the original group […]

Judith Resnik (1949 - 1986)

Judith Resnik was born in 1949 to Sarah and Marvin, an optometrist, in Akron, Ohio. Both her parents were Jewish immigrants from Ukraine. A graduate of Firestone High School in 1966, she excelled in mathematics and played classical piano. While at Firestone she achieved a perfect SAT score, the only female to do so that […]

Gregory Jarvis (1944 - 1986)

While pursuing his master’s degree at Northeastern, Gregory Jarvis worked at Raytheon in Bedford, Massachusetts, where he was involved in circuit design on the SAM-D missile. In July 1969, he entered active duty in the U.S. Air Force and was assigned to the Space Division in El Segundo, California. As a Communications Payload Engineer, in […]

Henry Chadwick (1824 - 1908)

Henry Chadwick was one of the prime movers in the rise of baseball to its popularity at the turn of the 20th century. A keen amateur statistician and professional writer, he helped sculpt the public perception of the game, as well as providing the basis for the records of teams’ and players’ achievements in the […]

John Tener (1863 - 1946)

John Tener was born in County Tyrone, Ireland to George Evans Tener and Susan Wallis. In 1872, Tener’s father died and the family moved the following year to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Tener attended public schools and later worked as a clerk for hardware manufacturer Oliver Iron and Steel Corporation from 1881–1885. In 1885, Tener, who was six-foot-four (1.93 […]

Red Barber (1908 - 1992)

Red Barber had been hired by Larry MacPhail, then president of the Reds. When MacPhail moved on to become president of the Dodgers for the 1939 season, he took the play-by-play man along. In Brooklyn, Barber became an institution, widely admired for his folksy style. He was also appreciated by people concerned about Brooklyn’s reputation […]

Peter “Pistol Pete” Maravich (1947 - 1988)

The Atlanta Hawks selected Pete Maravich with the third pick in the first round of the 1970 NBA draft, where he played for coach Richie Guerin. He was not a natural fit in Atlanta, as the Hawks already boasted a top-notch scorer at the guard position in Lou Hudson. In fact, Pistol Pete’s flamboyant style […]

Phil Rizzuto (1917 - 2007)

Phil Rizzuto was signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1937. His nickname, at times attributed to Yankees broadcaster Mel Allen, was actually bestowed on Rizzuto (according to him) by minor league teammate Billy Hitchcock because of the way Rizzuto ran the bases. After being named the Minor League Player of […]

Ward Lambert (1888 - 1958)

Ward Lambert was born in Deadwood, South Dakota. In 1890, Lambert and his family moved to Crawfordsville, Indiana. He played basketball and baseball at Crawfordsville High School and Wabash College, both under coach Ralph Jones, who himself went on to coach Purdue. Despite his height (5’6″), Lambert led Wabash in scoring his sophomore year—leading to […]

Charles Comiskey (1859 - 1931)

Charles Comiskey started his playing career as a pitcher, and moved to first base after developing arm trouble. He entered the American Association in 1882 with the St. Louis Brown Stockings. He managed the team during parts of its first seasons and took over full-time in 1885, leading the Browns to four consecutive American Association […]

Gene Brabender (1941 - 1996)

Gene Brabender (August 16, 1941 – December 27, 1996), nicknamed “Lurch”, was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent before the 1961 season. He pitched for the Baltimore Orioles (1966–1968), Seattle Pilots (1969), and the Milwaukee Brewers (1970). During a 5-year baseball career, […]

Alexander Joy Cartwright, Jr (1820 - 1892)

Alexander Cartwright led the establishment of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club (after the Knickerbocker Fire Engine Company) in 1842. The Knickerbockers played a brand of bat-and-ball game often called “town ball” or “round ball,” but in New York more usually “base ball,” somewhat similar to but not identical to the English sport of rounders, on […]

Warren Giles (1896 - 1979)

Warren Giles was elected president of the Moline, Illinois, Plowboys baseball club in the Class B Three-I League at age 23 in 1919, beginning his 50-year career in baseball. He then joined the St. Louis Cardinals’ organization and rose to prominence as the president and business manager of their top-level farm teams, the Syracuse Stars (1926–27) […]

Rose Gacioch (1915 - 2004)

A native of Wheeling, West Virginia, Rose Gacioch was orphaned at the age of 16. She lied about her age, saying that she was 18 in order to take a job in a corrugating plant in her homeland. She also joined the Little Cardinals, a semi-professional baseball team in town, being the only girl on […]

Gary Bradds (1942 - 1983)

Gary Bradds was selected by the Baltimore Bullets in the 1st round (3rd pick overall) of the 1964 NBA Draft. Bradds played in the North American Basketball League for Benton Harbor in 1965-66 and was Second Team NABL. He played for Columbus in 1966-67 and was named First Team NABL. He played for the Bullets (1964–66) in […]

Abe Saperstein (1902 - 1966)

Abe Saperstein (July 4, 1902 – March 15, 1966) was an owner and coach of the Savoy Big Five, which later became the Harlem Globetrotters. He was born in London, England, to a Jewish family. Saperstein was the commissioner of the American Basketball League, which he founded in 1961 after repeatedly being denied an NBA expansion […]

John Sieba Roosma (1900 - 1983)

John Roosma (September 3, 1900 – November 13, 1983) was an amateur basketball great during the 1920s. He played for the United States Military Academy for five years, graduating in 1926. The Passaic, New Jersey native was a prolific scorer and became the first college player to total 1,000 points for his career. As a member […]

Flo Hyman (1954 - 1986)

Flo Hyman was the second of eight children. As a child, Hyman was abused by her parents and self-conscious about her rapid growth. She made it a habit to try to hide her size. She hunched when she sat and slouched when she walked. But her mother persuaded her to be proud of it and […]

Colleen Hutchins (1926 - 2010)

Colleen Hutchins (May 23, 1926 – March 24, 2010) was Miss America 1952.  She was crowned as Brigham Young University Homecoming Queen in 1947. In September 1951. The first Miss Utah to wear the crown, she took top honors for 1952. Raised in Salt Lake City, she attended Brigham Young University where she was the 1947 […]

Paul Siple (1908 - 1968)

Paul Siple was born in Montpelier, Ohio on December 18, 1908 to Clyde Lavonius Siple and Fannie Hope Allman. His family moved to Erie, Pennsylvania, where he graduated from Central High School in 1926. He became an Eagle Scout in 1923 with 59 merit badges. After an extensive nationwide search in 1928, he was the […]

Harry August Jansen (1883 - 1955)

Harry August Jansen was born on October 3, 1883 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Jansen came to St. Paul, Minnesota at the age of 6 with his family. At the age of 16 Jansen made his stage debut under Charles Wagner. He then set off on a world tour for 5 years as the Great Jansen. In 1922, magician […]

Darryl Dawkins (1957 - 2015)

DARRYL DAWKINS Hoping to follow in Malone’s footsteps, the 18-year-old Darryl Dawkins renounced his college eligibility and applied for the 1975 NBA draft as a hardship candidate. The Philadelphia 76ers made him the fifth overall pick, behind David Thompson, David Meyers, Marvin Webster, and Alvan Adams. According to the New York Daily News, when Dawkins […]

Gary Collins (1938 - 2012)

Gary Collins made a career in television, co-starring, with Jack Warden and Mark Slade, in the 1965 series The Wackiest Ship in the Army. He co-starred, with Dale Robertson and Robert Random, in the 1966-68 series The Iron Horse. He starred in the 1972 television series Sixth Sense, in syndication part of Rod Serling’s Night […]

John Colicos (1928 - 2000)

John Colicos was born in Montreal, Quebec, to a Greek father and a Canadian mother. In 1957 he appeared in Mary Stuart at the Phoenix Theatre in New York City and in 1963 he appeared in Troilus and Cressida at the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. His other New York theatre credits are King Lear […]