William F. Durand

William Frederick Durand
Born	(1859-03-05)March 5, 1859 Beacon Falls, Connecticut
Died	August 9, 1958(1958-08-09) (aged 99)
Nationality	American
Alma mater	United States Naval Academy Lafayette College
Known for	pioneering research in aeronautics and propellers
Awards	Daniel Guggenheim Medal (1935) John Fritz Medal (1936) ASME Medal (1945) Medal for Merit (1946)
Scientific career
Fields	Aeronautics
Institutions	National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics National Academy of Sciences National Research Council National Bureau of Standards American Society of Mechanical Engineers Royal Aeronautical Society Stanford University Cornell University Michigan State University Worcester Polytechnic Institute Lafayette College
Thesis	Graphical representation of optical laws (1888)
Military career
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1876–1887
Rank	Assistant Engineer
Chairman of the NACA
In office 1916–1918
President	Woodrow Wilson
Preceded by	George P. Scriven
Succeeded by	John R. Freeman

William Frederick Durand (March 5, 1859 – August 9, 1958) was a United States naval officer and pioneer mechanical engineer. He contributed significantly to the development of aircraft propellers. He was the first civilian chair of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the forerunner of NASA.^[1]

A native of Connecticut, he was a member of the first graduating class of Birmingham High School in Derby, Connecticut (now Derby High School) in 1877. He graduated second in his class at the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis and received his Ph.D. from Lafayette College. He went on to teach at the Michigan State College, Cornell University and Stanford University, teaching that school's first course in aeronautics, the second offered by any school in the country (the first was offered by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology). He helped rebuild Stanford after the 1906 earthquake, and the department of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering building bears his name. A memorial there reads: "His first professional assignment in 1880 was on the USS Tennessee, a full rigged wooden ship with auxiliary steam power. His last, 1942–46 was as chairman of the National Aeronautical Commission for the development of jet propulsion for aircraft." He died in 1958 at the age of 99.