African-American Achievements in Aviation and Aerospace

Filed in archive Aviation History on February 23, 2008

As Black History month comes to a close, I wanted to share with you a timeline of African-American Achievements in Aviation and Aerospace.

1952: Frank E. Petersen, Jr., B.S., M.S.- U.S. Marine Corp's first African American aviator.
1954: David Blackwell- the first African American to hold a permanent position at a major university
1956: Carl A. Rouse- earns Ph.D. in Particle Physics at California Institute of Technology
1960: Harvey Washington Banks- first African American to earn a Ph.D. in Astronomy at Georgetown University.
1962: Vance H. Marchbanks, Jr., M.D.- One of the earliest African American doctors to specialize in space medicine.
1962: Edward J. Dwight, Jr.- first African American appointed to astronaut training school.
1962: Benjamin Franklin Perry- second African American to earn a Ph.D. in Astronomy at University of Michigan.
1964: David E. Harris, B.S.- first African American pilot of American Airlines.
1964: David Blackwell, Ph.D.- first African American mathematician to Chair a department at a major university
1967: Robert H. Lawrence - first designated African American astronaut (never traveled in space)
1968: Elinor Williams- first African American Air Traffic controller in U.S.
1969: George Robert Caruthers an African American physicist who invented the Far Ultraviolet Camera used in the Apollo 16th mission to the moon.
1969: Clarence Ellis- first African American to earn a Ph.D. in Computer Science
1970: George Robert Caruthers - first scientist to detect and record the existence of hydrogen molecules in interstellar space.
1973: Shirley A. Jackson, Ph.D.- first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. from MIT in Physics Nuclear Regulatory Commission
1979: Marcella A. Ng- first African American female pilot in the U.S. Air Force.
1980: Brenda E. Robinson, B.S.- first African American female pilot in the U.S. Navy.
1980: Louis L. Freeman, B.S.- first African American pilot for Southwest Airlines.
1983: Guion S. Bluford, Jr., Ph.D. in aerospace engineering (1978)- first African American to fly in space
1984: Michael R. Hollis, B.A.- founded Air Atlanta, first major Black owned airline
1984: Ronald E. McNair, Ph.D. (MIT) 1976- 2nd African American in space.
1985: Frederick Drew Gregory, Sr., B.S., M.S.- first African American to pilot an American spacecraft.
1991: Edward B. Fort, Ed.D.- first African American to serve on the National Aeronautical and Space Administrative Advising Council.
1992: Mae C. Jemison - first African American woman in space
1995: Bernard A. Harris, Jr., - first African American to walk in space.
1995: Charles F. Bolden, Jr.- highest-ranking African American in the Marine Corps; piloted the Columbia and Discovery shuttles
2000: Lydia Kennard- highest-ranking woman in aviation; first African American to hold the Executive Director position of Los Angeles World Airports.
2001: Robert L. Curbeam, Jr. - first African American to make three space walks during the in-orbit construction of the International Space Station.
2002: Tara Wright- first African American woman owner of a U.S. aviation company. F

Thanks Carolyn Quinichett!