Von Braun: The Man

Wernher Magnus Maximillian von Braun was born on March 23, 1912 in what was once Wirsitz, Germany (now the Polish province of Poznan). His father, Baron Magnus Von Braun, was an aristocratic businessman, banker and politician. His mother, Baroness Emmy von Quistorp, cultivated Wernher's interests in math and science when she gave him a telescope for his confirmation into the Lutheran church. She encouraged all of her sons to share her interest in the arts and sciences. Always the visionary, young Wernher set his goal in life to "help turn the wheel of time."

He began his formal education at the French Gymnasium in Berlin. It was there that Wernher did very well in subjects such as music and languages, but poorly in mathematics and physics. In 1925 he read a book by Hermann Oberth entitled, The Rocket into Interplanetary Space. The concept of space travel really captured his attention but there was a problem: his weakness in mathematics limited his ability to understand the concepts and theories. Rather than give up, he attacked his studies vigorously and was soon tutoring other students.

Von Braun's interest in mechanics, especially rockets, led to some experiments that did not go off quite like he had planned. As a youth, von Braun decided to build a car using recycled parts from old cars. He had spent so much time on the project, and so little on his schooling, that he failed both mathematics and physics. When he was 16, he tried to construct a rocket-propelled toy wagon using firecrackers as the motor. In addition to creating quite a disturbance in his neighborhood, the local police picked him up and held him until his father could come and get him. In yet another experiment, he launched a rocket that landed (or, more accurately, crashed!) through his parents' greenhouse at their home in Berlin.

A natural leader, he both encouraged and inspired those around him. At the age of 16 he assembled a volunteer construction team that built a complete observatory! They dug the ditches, laid the brick, and erected the structure in their spare time.

He continued his education at the Berlin Institute of Technology and received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering at the age of 20. Following his college degree, he received a grant to study and develop liquid-fueled rocket engines. At the age of 22 he received his Ph.D in physics from the University of Berlin. Not bad for someone who started out so poorly in math and science!

He began his career in Germany and had many successes, but Hitler's order to have him build rockets for war led to his surrender to the Americans. Once in the U.S., von Braun was able to pursue his dreams of space flight. He became the first director of NASA in 1960 and retired in 1972 to become vice president of Fairchild Industries, where he worked to promote the National Space Institute.

At the peak of his work at Fairchild, he learned that he had cancer. Surgeries and treatments did not halt its progression, forcing him to retire from Fairchild in December, 1976. He died in Alexandria, Virginia on June 16, 1977 leaving behind his wife, 3 children, and a legacy as the first space pioneer.