Wernher Magnus Maximilian, Freiherr von Braun, was born on March 23, 1912 and died on June 16, 1977 at the age of 65 years.
Wernher was a German-American rocket scientist, space engineer, space architect and one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Nazi Germany during World War II, and later in the United States.
Wernher worked as a rocket designer between 1930 and 1970. Some people claim that Wernher von Braun was the most important rocket engineer in the 20th century.
After the completion of World War II, Wernher along with 500 other rocket scientists surrendered to the United States. Furthermore, through Operation Paperclip, he was flown to the United States.
In the United States, he worked for the United States Army which was subsequently transferred to NASA. In 1955, about 10 years had entered the United States, von Braun became a citizen of the United States.
Wernher von Braun became one of the developers and leaders of the V-2 rocket project, the first rocket that successfully penetrated into space and bombed several major cities, for example in London. He also managed to develop Saturn V rockets, capable of bringing humans to the moon by the Apollo rides in 1969.
Beginning of Life
 |
| Wernher von Braun, via thefamouspeople.com |
Wernher von Braun was born in Wirsitz (now: Wyrzysk) in Poland on March 23, 1912.
Wernher was the second of three children. His father, Magnus Freiherr von Braun (1878-1972) was a director general of a bank. During the time of the Weimar Republic, Magnus became minister of food and agriculture.
Meanwhile, his mother named Emmy von Quistorp is a daughter of Prussian parliamentarians.
Right in 1915, the von Braun family moved to Berlin and his father worked in the home department. During early school, von Braun attended the French high school in Berlin. At the age of 13, von Braun obtained a telescope from his mother. The gift given by her mother raised her interest in astronomy.
In 1925, von Braun went to school at the Ettersburg Castle boarding school near Weimar. However, the value of mathematics and physics is not very good. While studying, Wernher obtained copies of the book "Rakete zu den Planetenraumen Die" by a rocket pioneer Hermann Oberth. This book is one of the inspirations to study aviation and the space world.
In 1928, Wernher was transferred to the Hermann-Lietz-Internat boarding school by his parents, located on the island of Spiekeroog, Germany.
Space travel will always fascinate von Braun and since then he has applied to study physics and mathematics for his interest in rocket engineering.
After graduation, von Braun studied at the University of Technology Berlin in the summer of 1930. In 1932, Wernher von Braun graduated with a bachelor's degree in mechine engineering and continued to study physics to Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitat until graduating in 1934 with a Dr. . Phil in physics.
Not only that, von Braun also studied at ETH Zurich right in 1931.
More about German People : Biography of Werner Heisenberg (German Physicist)
More about German People : Biography of Werner Heisenberg (German Physicist)
NAZI and V-2
In World War II, Wernher managed to lead as many as 500 scientists and technicians to make missile rockets.
The result is a V-2 or Aggregat-4 (A4) rocket used by Nazi Germany to bomb some major cities in Europe, for example London, Antwerp and Liege.
In the war, counted as many as 3,172 V-2 were fired into cities in Europe:
- Belgium, as many as 1664:
- Antwerp (1610)
- Liege (27)
- Hasselt (13)
- Tournai (9)
- Mons (3)
- Diest (2)
- United Kingdom, as many as 1402:
- London (1358)
- Norwich (43)
- Ipswich (1)
- France, as many as 76:
- Lille (25)
- Paris (22)
- Tourcing (19)
- Arras (6)
- Cambrai (4)
- Netherlands, as many as 19:
- Maastricht (19)
- Germany, as many as 11:
- Remagen (11)
In London alone, it is estimated that V-2 rockets killed more than 2500 people and more than 6500 people suffered serious injuries.
Toward the end of World War II, Wernher von Braun along with 500 German scientists surrendered to the United States. Through Operation Paperclip, all experts along with equipment were transferred to the United States.
