SACRED LEGACY ARCHIVES™

Theodore von Kármán

1881-05-11 – 1963-05-06

Dr. Theodore von Karman, co-founder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Pasadena, California was an aeronautical theoretician. His contributions in the fields of aerodynamics and aeronautical engineering are well documented and well known to every aerospace engineer. He was the first winner of the prestigious U.S. Medal of Science presented to him by President John F. Kennedy. As well as being co-founder of JPL, he also was principal founder of a major rocket propulsion firm (Aerojet-General Corp.), the top science advisor to the U.S. Air Force during its transition to jet propulsion aircraft and the top science advisor to NATO. He was, during much of this time, the fountainhead of aerodynamic thought as head of the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology (GALCIT) in Pasadena, California. In the May 1956 issue of the Journal of Aeronautical Sciences, it was said of him that "No other man has had so great an impact on the development of aeronautical science in this country. Hundreds of young men became his students and scientific collaborators and were inspired to greater effort." Dr. William H. Pickering, then director of JPL said in 1960 "We wouldn't have an aeronautical science as we know it today, if it weren't for Dr. Thoedore von Karman." Under his guidance, Caltech's 10 foot wind tunnel was designed, built and operated. Industry firms such as Douglas, Northrop, Hughes, Lockheed, North American, Vultee and Consolidated all tested new aeronautical designs and concepts in GALCIT's tunnel. Even Boeing's own high-speed wind tunnel was heavily influenced by suggestions from von Karman. The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) became so concerned about GALCIT's growing influence over West coast aviation, it erected the Ames Laboratory in Sunnyvale, California in part to deter an ever widening aeronautical gap that had formed between NACA and GALCIT. From 1936 to 1940, Caltech stood alone as the only university-based rocket research center. Von Karman gambled his prestige by supporting Frank Malina and H.S. Tsien's work on rocketry. Other institutions of higher learning dismissed such research as 'fantastical' and left such endeavors to visionaries like Robert Goddard. Foundational theoretical research by Von Karman gave rise to the first successful solid-fuel rocket engine firings. This led to federal funding for studies that lead to a form of aircraft rocket propulsion called Jet Assisted Take-Off or (JATO). Success in this endeavor led to von Karman establishing two more highly regarded institutions; both originally dedicated to rocketry: the Aerojet Engineering Company and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The last years of his life were spent in Paris, his favorite city. His interest in aeronautical research and contributions to it never waned. He organized in Paris the NATO Advisory Group for Aeronautical Research and Development (AGARD). Staffed by American and European scientists eager to serve, its many committees investigated such disciplines as propulsion, aerodynamics and electronics. The legacy of his personable leadership and 'soft touch' approach to problem solving was only equalled by his genius.Credit: NACA

Life & Legacy

Theodore von Kármán (Hungarian: (szőllőskislaki) Kármán Tódor [(søːløːʃkiʃlɒki) ˈkaːrmaːn ˈtoːdor], May 11, 1881 – May 6, 1963) was a Hungarian-American mathematician, aerospace engineer, and physicist who worked in aeronautics and astronautics. He was responsible for crucial advances in aerodynamics characterizing supersonic and hypersonic airflow. The defined threshold of outer space is named the "Kármán line" in recognition of his work. Kármán is regarded as an outstanding aerodynamic theoretician of the 20th century.

Occupation & Career

physicist, mathematician, military flight engineer, inventor, university teacher, Idist, astronomer, scientist, aerospace engineer

Education

Budapest University of Technology and Economics; University of Göttingen

Accomplishments, Inventions & Publications

honorary presidency; Doctor of Engineering (honorary); Medal for Merit; John Fritz Medal; Franklin Medal; Kelvin Gold Medal; Gold Medal of the Royal Aeronautical Society; Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy; Daniel Guggenheim Medal; Department of the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service; Medal of Freedom; Ludwig-Prandtl-Ring; Doctor of Science (honorary); Goddard Gold Medal; Doctor of Law (honorary); University of Liège Gold Medal; ASME Medal; Meritorious Civilian Service Award; Grand Médaille d'Honneur; Officer of the Legion of Honour; Philosophiae doctor (Norway); honorary doctor of the Université libre de Bruxelles; Honorary doctor of the University of Liège; doctor honoris causa from the University of Aix-Marseille; honorary doctor of the University of Lille; honorary doctorate; doctor honoris causa from the University of Paris; honorary doctorate of Seville University; honorary doctor of the University of Athens; National Medal of Science; Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany; Timoshenko Medal; Grand Cross of the Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise; Wilhelm Exner Medal; Josiah Willard Gibbs Lectureship; National Aviation Hall of Fame; National Inventors Hall of Fame; Carl Friedrich Gauss Medal; Fellow of the American Physical Society; Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany; James Watt International Medal; Foreign Member of the Royal Society; International Space Hall of Fame; Kármán line; Kármán vortex street

Legacy Highlights

Honors & Awards

ASME Medal · Carl Friedrich Gauss Medal · Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany · Daniel Guggenheim Medal · Department of the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service · doctor honoris causa from the University of Aix-Marseille · doctor honoris causa from the University of Paris · Doctor of Engineering (honorary) · Doctor of Law (honorary) · Doctor of Science (honorary) · Fellow of the American Physical Society · Foreign Member of the Royal Society · Franklin Medal · Goddard Gold Medal · Gold Medal of the Royal Aeronautical Society · Grand Cross of the Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise · Grand Médaille d'Honneur · honorary doctor of the Université libre de Bruxelles · honorary doctor of the University of Athens · Honorary doctor of the University of Liège · honorary doctor of the University of Lille · honorary doctorate · honorary doctorate of Seville University · honorary presidency · International Space Hall of Fame · James Watt International Medal · John Fritz Medal · Josiah Willard Gibbs Lectureship · Kelvin Gold Medal · Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany · Ludwig-Prandtl-Ring · Medal for Merit · Medal of Freedom · Meritorious Civilian Service Award · National Aviation Hall of Fame · National Inventors Hall of Fame · National Medal of Science · Officer of the Legion of Honour · Philosophiae doctor (Norway) · Timoshenko Medal · University of Liège Gold Medal · Wilhelm Exner Medal · Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy

Employer

California Institute of Technology · Ganz Works · RWTH Aachen University · University of Göttingen

Organizations & Memberships

Academy of Sciences of Turin · Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei · American Academy of Arts and Sciences · American Association for the Advancement of Science · American Association of University Professors · American Astronautical Society · American Geophysical Union · American Mathematical Society · American Meteorological Society · American Philosophical Society · American Physical Society · American Rocket Society · American Society of Civil Engineers · American Society of Mechanical Engineers · Association Française des Ingénieurs et Techniciens de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace · Associazione Italiana di Aerotecnica · Calcutta Mathematical Society · Franklin Institute · French Academy of Sciences · Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Lower Saxony · Indian Academy of Sciences · Institute of the Aerospace Sciences · National Academy of Sciences · National Defense Industrial Association · Pontifical Academy of Sciences · Royal Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences · Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Saint Isabel of Hungary · Royal Aeronautical Society · Royal Society of London · United States · Weizmann Institute of Science