Engineers
Fort Bliss (Tex.)
German Americans
George C. Marshall Space Flight Center
Project Apollo (U.S.)
Peenemünde (Germany)
Huntsville (Ala.)
Madison County (Ala.)
Operation Paperclip (U.S.)
The information in this dataset is reproduced from Charles Lundquist's 2014 monograph Transplanted Rocket Pioneers. The information includes biographical and professional information that he compiled to produce the book. Each individual represented in the dataset also has a vertical file in the Lundquist Collection at UAH. Transplanted Rocket Pioneers is a recognition of the early members of the von Braun rocket team, many of whom were key players in the successful moon landing. Many historians conclude that the lunar missions of the Apollo Program could not have been possible without the leadership and experience provided by a corps of engineers, scientists and managers transplanted from Europe to the Unites States after World War II. This fact motivated Dr. Lundquist to deposit this work in the Archives of the Library at the University of Alabama in Huntsville by assembling a file on each of the individuals who came from Europe to participate in the rocketry activities in Huntsville, or, in a few cases, individuals who had other ties to Huntsville. This dataset includes a standard one-page summary sheet for each subject. Although most sheets are relatively complete, some data are still missing. The first two lines on each page records fundamental identification information: Family name Date of birth Place of birth Given names Date of death Place of death The next standard entry is a statement of the extent of the Archives Holdings, either i) A primary collection of documents housed in one or more banker boxes, usually a separate individual collection ii) A secondary collection in a standard archive box, or iii) a file folder. Next, if there is an oral or video history for the individual, this fact is noted. A statement about the highest education levels of the individual follows. The next five entries, in chronological order, record whether the individual participated in activities at five sites: 1. Raketenflugplatz-Kummersdorf: Individuals engaged in the activities at these sites of early rocket development experiments sponsored first by VfR and subsequently by the German Army. 2. Peenemünde: Included here are individuals who participated in Peenemünde programs under several auspices, including as Army civilian employees, as members of the German military, as contractor employees on site or visiting as needed, and as university employees collaborating as required. 3. Fort Bliss: Individuals who were brought to Fort Bliss from 1945 to 1950. 4. GMDD-ABMA: Individuals who came to Huntsville, Alabama to work for the US Army rocket programs in the decade 1950 to 1960. 5th MSFC: Individuals who were employed by the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in the 1960s. Some people had various relationships with UAH and that is so noted. Additionally, a statement of immigration details is noted if pertinent. Finally, a great variety of incidental information is included under Incidental Remarks. UAH Special Collections welcomes additions of biographical materials to the vertical file in the Charles Lundquist Collection. Please note that the work is that of Dr. Lundquist and may contain errors or omissions which are solely the product of his work on the project, as noted in the introduction of the work.: " Finally, it is pertinent to note that any document containing large files will surely have some mistakes or omission. Any errors are the responsibility of the author alone." As was the wish of Dr. Lundquist, we will strive to make factual corrections to the online copy when necessary.
Lundquist, Charles A.
University of Alabama in Huntsville Archives, Special Collections, and Digital Initiatives, Huntsville, Alabama
This material may be protected under U. S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S. Code) which governs the making of photocopies or reproductions of copyrighted materials. You may use the digitized material for private study, scholarship, or research. Though the University of Alabama in Huntsville Archives and Special Collections has physical ownership of the material in its collections, in some cases we may not own the copyright to the material. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in our collections.
Text
Charles Lundquist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
University of Alabama in Huntsville. Research Institute
Charles A. Lundquist seated in Von Braun Research Hall, at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
University of Alabama in Huntsville
Photographs
Still Image
Program from the first biannual Dr. Wernher von Braun Exploration Forum.
Denver, John
Schmitt, Harrison H.
Stuhlinger, Ernst, 1913-2008
Von Braun, Wernher, 1912-1977
National Space Club
The forum included a scholarship presentation and awards dinner given by the National Space Club. Special guests were musician John Denver, Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt, and engineer Ernst Stuhlinger.
Programs
David Christensen speaking at the dedication of the Willy Ley Collection at the UAH Library.
Christensen, David L.
Ley, Willy, 1906-1969
Libraries--Special collections
Science writers
Academic libraries
Christensen then worked in the Division of Graduate Programs and Research at UAH. The UAH Library purchased the Willy Ley Collection from Ley's widow, Olga, in 1970.
Painted sign advertising the Willy Ley Collection at the UAH Library.
Today this sign is on display in the Archives and Special Collections reading room on the ground floor of the library. The UAH Library purchased the Willy Ley Collection from Ley's widow, Olga, in 1970.
Still image
Olga Ley speaking at the dedication of the Willy Ley Collection at the UAH Library.
Ley, Olga, 1912-
David Christensen is standing at the right. The UAH Library purchased the Willy Ley Collection from Mrs. Ley in 1970.
Arthur Rudolph speaking at the dedication of the Willy Ley Collection at the UAH Library.
Rudolph, Arthur Louis Hugo, 1906-
At the time, Rudolph was retired from NASA as the former manager of the Saturn V program at Marshall Space Flight Center. The UAH Library purchased the Willy Ley Collection from Ley's widow, Olga, in 1970.
Ben Graves speaking at the dedication of the Willy Ley Collection at the UAH Library.
Graves, Benjamin Barnes
Graves was the president of UAH at the time. David Christensen is standing at the right, next to a sign painted to advertise the collection. The UAH Library purchased the Willy Ley Collection from Ley's widow, Olga, in 1970.
Olga Ley cutting the ribbon at the opening of the Willy Ley Collection at the UAH Library.
The UAH Library purchased the Willy Ley Collection from Mrs. Ley in 1970.
Olga Ley positioning a bust of Willy Ley on a display case.
Wernher von Braun and UAH President Ben Graves can be seen in the background. The UAH Library purchased the Willy Ley Collection from Mrs. Ley in 1970.
Jean Perrault, Arthur Rudolph, Wernher von Braun, and Ben Graves at the dedication of the Willy Ley Collection at the UAH Library.
Perrault, Jean Michel
Perrault was the director of the UAH Library at the time. Rudolph had retired from NASA from 1969 and von Braun was then working as Deputy Associate Administrator of NASA in Washington, D.C. The UAH Library purchased the Willy Ley Collection from Ley's widow, Olga, in 1970.
Wernher von Braun and Ben Graves at the dedication of the Willy Ley Collection at the UAH Library.
The UAH Library purchased the Willy Ley Collection from Ley's widow, Olga, in 1970.
Dedication of the Willy Ley Collection at the UAH Library.
On the front row, left to right, are David Christensen, Arthur Rudolph, Wernher von Braun, and Olga Ley. The UAH Library purchased the Willy Ley Collection from Ley's widow, Olga, in 1970
Wernher von Braun, Jean Perrault, Olga Ley, and Ben Graves at the dedication of the Willy Ley Collection.
Attendees at the dedication of the Willy Ley Collection at the UAH Library.