Wright Brothers, Werhner von Braun Earn Top Ranking as Most Important and
Influential Ever in Aviation Weekís “Top 100 Stars of Aerospace” Poll
NEW YORK, NY – In the year commemorating the 100th anniversary of The Wright
Brothers historic flight, Wilbur and Orville Wright, followed by Wernher von
Braun, Robert Goddard, Leonardo da Vinci, Glenn Curtiss, Charles A.
Lindbergh, William L. “Billy” Mitchell, Clarence L. “Kelly” Johnson, Neil A.
Armstrong, Daniel Bernoulli were voted the top 10 luminaries in aviation and
aerospace history in a poll of industry professionals unveiled today.
Aviation Weekís Aviation Week’s “Top 100 Stars of Aerospace” poll, a
first-ever initiative to identify the most important, most interesting and
most influential people in the global aerospace community — past and
present – was revealed today at a gala event of industry professionals in
Paris.
As voted by their peers, the most important aviation and aerospace
personalities of all-time are as follows:
- Wilbur and Orville Wright
- Wernher von Braun
- Robert Goddard
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Glenn Curtiss
- Charles A. Lindbergh
- William L. “Billy” Mitchell
- Clarence L. “Kelly” Johnson
- Neil A. Armstrong
- Daniel Bernoulli
- Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager
- Otto Lilienthal
- Buzz Aldrin
- William Boeing
- Alan B. Shepard, Jr.
- Henry H. “Hap” Arnold
- Manfred von Richthofen
- Samuel P. Langley
- Igor I. Sikorsky
- Jules Verne
- John K. Northrop
- Herb Kelleher
- Edward V. “Eddie” Rickenbacker
- Jacques-Etienne and Joseph-Michel Montgolfier
- tie Christopher Kraft / Antoine de Saint-ExupÈry
- Curtis LeMay
- Ernst Mach
- Juan Trippe
- Elbert “Burt” Rutan
- Theodore von Karman
- Alberto Santos-Dumont
- James Van Allen
- Alexander Graham Bell
- Ben Rich
- Alvin M. “Tex” Johnston
- Richard Branson
- Yuri Gagarin
- Octave Chanute
- James “Jimmy” H. Doolittle
- Alexandre Gustave Eiffel
- Robert “Bob” Crandall
- Space Shuttle Challenger Crew
- Louis Bleriot
- Donald Douglas
- Claire L. Chenault
- Will Rogers
- James A. Lovell, Jr.
- Robert “Bob” Hoover
- tie Thomas H. Kelly / ClÈment Ader
- Hugh Dryden
- Pierre-Georges LatÈcoËre
- tie Marcel Bloch (Dassault) / Roger BÈteille
- Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom
- Ferdinand von Zeppelin
- Jacqueline Auriol
- Arthur C. Clarke
- Isoroku Yamamoto
- Daniel and Harry Guggenheim
- Anne Morrow Lindbergh
- Robert J. Collier
- Gregory “Pappy” Boyington
- Elmer Sperry
- James “Jimmy” Stewart
- Douglas “Wrong Way” Corrigan
- Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
- tie Patricia “Patty” Wagstaff / Frank Whittle
- tie Carl Sagan / Sergey Korolyov
- Albert Boyd
- RenÈ Leduc
- John W. Young
- Gene Roddenberry
- Valentina Tereshkova
- Thomas E. Braniff
- Walter C. “Walt” Williams
- Jean Mermoz
- Henri and Maurice Farman
- Paul Poberezny
- Jean Bertin
- Sally K. Ride
- Roland Garros
- Osborne Reynolds
- Amelia Earhart
- Georges Guynemer
- H.G. Wells
- Jean-Pierre HaignerÈ
- tie James S. McDonnell, Jr. / Robert Esnault-Pelterie
- tie Allan and Malcom Loughhead (Lockheed) / Marcel Bouilloux-Lafont
- Richard Bong
- John H. Glenn, Jr.
- tie James E. Webb / Freddie Laker
- Lawrence Sperry
- Douglas Bader
- Howard Hughes
- Willy Messerschmitt
- Louis Breguet
- William A. Moffett
- William “Bull” Halsey
- George Mueller
- Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe
- Boris Petrov
“These men and women are the dreamers and doers who have changed the way we
live. Every aspect of modern life is affected because of their
accomplishments, inspiration and vision of flight,” said Aviation Week Group
Executive Vice President/Publisher Kenneth E. Gazzola. “The list is truly
global – 20 from France alone – which demonstrates that the desire to go
higher and faster is shared by people all over the earth.”
Additional information, including biographical sketches and the top three
finishers in 15 different categories, is available at www.AviationNow.com.
The Top 100 program, part of Aviation Week’s The Next Century of Flight
(NCF) education and outreach initiative, is produced in partnership with the
International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS) and its U.S.
affiliate, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).
The voting website, designed and hosted by IBM, featured more than 760
candidates in 15 categories. To ensure the credibility and professional
caliber of the Top 100 results, the ballot was only open to ICAS and AIAA
affiliates and members, Aviation Week group subscribers and Next Century of
Flight program partners.
About Aviation Week
With nearly 50 products and services and a core audience of some one million
professionals and enthusiasts, Aviation Week, a division of The McGraw-Hill
Companies, is the world’s premier multimedia information and service
provider to the aviation and aerospace market. The Next Century of Flight
leverages all of the assets of the Aviation Week group to promote aviation
education and aerospace careers around the world. The program is currently
supported by these partners:
- Air Transport Association of America and participating ATA member airlines: Alaska Airlines, America West Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Midwest Express Airlines
- American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Evolution of Flight
- Be A Pilot
- Bombardier Aerospace
- Centurion Press, Ltd.
- Civil Air Patrol
- Federal Aviation Administration
- GIFAS, the French Aerospace Industries Association
- McGraw-Hill Education
- National Business Aviation Association’s AvKids program
- Parker Hannifin
- Society of British Aerospace Companies
- U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission – Women in Aviation International
- Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
- Plus the ongoing collaboration of NASA
Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a global information services
provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and
business information markets through leading brands such as Standard &
Poor’s, BusinessWeek and McGraw-Hill Education. The Corporation has more
than 320 offices in 34 countries. Sales in 2002 were $4.8 billion.
Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com
About IBM
IBM (NYSE: IBM) is one of the largest providers worldwide in the field of
information technology (hardware, software and services). The company
employs approximately 310,000 people worldwide and is active in more than
160 countries. IBM and its partners provide their clients with a complete
range of products in advanced information technology: from hardware and
software through services and complex application solutions through to
outsourcing projects and training facilities. Further information can be
obtained about IBM on www.ibm.com.
