Wernher von Braun

In this German name, the surname is Freiherr von Braun, not Braun.

Wernher von Braun
Von Braun in 1964
Born
Wernher Magnus Maximilian, Freiherr von Braun

(1912-03-23)23 March 1912
Wirsitz, Posen, Prussia, German Empire
Died16 June 1977(1977-06-16) (aged 65)
Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.
Burial placeIvy Hill Cemetery, Alexandria, Virginia[1]
NationalityGerman
CitizenshipUnited States
Education
Occupation(s)Rocket engineer and designer, aerospace project manager
Known forNASA engineering program manager; chief architect of the Apollo Saturn V rocket; development of the V-2 rocket for Nazi Germany
Political partyNazi Party (1937–1945)
Spouse
Maria Luise von Quistorp
​
​
(m. 1947)​
Children3
Parents
Relatives
Awards
Military career
AllegianceNazi Germany
Service / branchAllgemeine SS
Years of service1937–1945
RankSS-Sturmbannführer (major)
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsRocket propulsion
Institutions
ThesisKonstruktive, theoretische und experimentelle Beiträge zu dem Problem der Flüssigkeitsrakete (1934)
Doctoral advisorErich Schumann
Signature

Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun (US: /ˈvɜːrnər vɒn ˈbraʊn/ VUR-nər von BROWN,[3] German: [ˈvɛʁnheːɐ̯ fɔn ˈbʁaʊn]; 23 March 1912 – 16 June 1977) was a German-American aerospace engineer[4] and space architect. He was a member of the Nazi Party and Allgemeine SS, the leading figure in the development of rocket technology in Nazi Germany, and later a pioneer of rocket and space technology in the United States.[5]

As a young man, von Braun worked in Nazi Germany's rocket development program. He helped design and co-developed the V-2 rocket at Peenemünde during World War II. The V-2 became the first artificial object to travel into space on 20 June 1944. Following the war, he was secretly moved to the United States, along with about 1,600 other German scientists, engineers, and technicians, as part of Operation Paperclip.[6] He worked for the United States Army on an intermediate-range ballistic missile program, and he developed the rockets that launched the United States' first space satellite Explorer 1 in 1958. He worked with Walt Disney on a series of films, which popularized the idea of human space travel in the U.S. and beyond from 1955 to 1957.[7]

In 1960, his group was assimilated into NASA, where he served as director of the newly formed Marshall Space Flight Center and as the chief architect of the Saturn V super heavy-lift launch vehicle that propelled the Apollo spacecraft to the Moon.[8][9] In 1967, von Braun was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering, and in 1975, he received the National Medal of Science.

Von Braun is a highly controversial figure widely seen as escaping justice for his awareness of Nazi war crimes due to the Americans' desire to beat the Soviets in the Cold War.[10][11][5] He is also sometimes described by others as the "father of space travel",[12] the "father of rocket science",[13] or the "father of the American lunar program".[10] He advocated a human mission to Mars.

  1. ^ Ivy Hill Cemetery, Alexandria, Virginia, Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Location 48952). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.
  2. ^ Editor, ÖGV. (2015). Wilhelm Exner Medal. Austrian Trade Association. ÖGV. Austria.
  3. ^ "How to Pronounce Von Braun". 27 July 2014. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2024. During the time he was in Huntsville, Dr. Braun told everyone that his name was pronounced like the color Brown.
  4. ^ Neufeld, Michael (11 November 2008). Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War. New York, N.Y: Vintage. p. xv. ISBN 978-0-307-38937-4.
  5. ^ a b Teitel, Amy Shira. "Wernher von Braun: History's most controversial figure?". aljazeera.com.
  6. ^ Neufeld, Michael J. (20 May 2019). "Wernher von Braun and the Nazis". American Experience: Chasing the Moon. PBS. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  7. ^ Wright, Mike (18 February 2016). Harbaugh, Jennifer (ed.). "The Disney-Von Braun Collaboration and Its Influence on Space Exploration". NASA. Archived from the original on 2 November 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  8. ^ "SP-4206 Stages to Saturn, Chapter 9". history.nasa.gov. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  9. ^ "Biography of Wernher Von Braun". MSFC History Office. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. Archived from the original on 11 June 2002.
  10. ^ a b "How Historians Are Reckoning With the Former Nazi Who Launched America's Space Program". Time. 18 July 2019.
  11. ^ Neufeld, Michael J. (2002). "Wernher von Braun, the SS, and Concentration Camp Labor: Questions of Moral, Political, and Criminal Responsibility". German Studies Review. 25 (1): 57–78. doi:10.2307/1433245. JSTOR 1433245.
  12. ^ "von Braun, Wernher: National Aviation Hall of Fame". Nationalaviation.org. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  13. ^ "A Guide to Wernher von Braun's Life". Apollo11space.com. December 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2022.