Hermann Oberth

Romanian-born rocket scientist, a physicist who, along with the Russian Konstantin Tsiolkovsky and the American Robert Goddard, was considered one of the founders of modern astronautics. Oberth’s experimental rocket research led to the development of the V-2.

The son of a prosperous doctor, he became interested in rockets when his mother gave him a copy of Jules Verne’s "From the Earth to the Moon," a book that he read over and over until he knew it by heart. He developed his theories while teaching himself the necessary mathematics, but eventually he enrolled at the University of Munich in 1912 to pursue a degree in medicine. With the onset of World War I, he left college to serve as a medic in the Austro-Hungarian Army, an experience that showed him he didn’t really want to be a doctor. After the war, he sought his Ph.D. at the University of Heidelberg, but in 1922, the University rejected his dissertation, which was based on his rocket design. In 1923, he published that research as "The Rocket into Interplanetary Space."

In 1929, Oberth’s book, "Ways to Spaceflight," won the first annual Robert Esnault-Pelterie-André Hirsch Prize of 10,000 francs. This allowed him to continue his research on liquid-propellant rocket motors, and in 1931, he applied for, and received, a patent on his innovative design. The first rocket was launched on 7 May 1931 near Berlin. He joined the faculty of the Technical University of Vienna in 1938. In 1940, he became a German citizen and one year later transferred to the German rocket development center at Peenemünde. After working in various facilities in Germany, Switzerland and Italy, he moved to the United States in 1955 where he did advanced space work for the army.

Married, he had four children.

He was wounded during World War I, and in 1929, while working as a technical advisor on the film, "Girl in the Moon," Oberth performed an experiment that ended with the loss of sight in his left eye.