George Edward Pendray

George Edward Pendray (May 19, 1901 – September 15, 1987) was an American public relations counselor, author, foundation executive, and an early advocate of rockets and spaceflight. He was associated with Robert H. Goddard and helped organize the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). He conceived the idea of a "time capsule" sealed container to preserve current everyday items for future historians and implemented his concept at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Pendray co-founded the American Interplanetary Society.

Early life

Pendray was born in Omaha, Nebraska, to John Hall Pendray and his wife, Louisa Wolfe. He grew up in Niobrara County, Wyoming and attended the University of Wyoming, graduating in 1924.Who Was Who in America, Vol 9 He then went to Columbia University, where he received his Master of Arts degree in 1925. Two years later, he married Leatrice M. Gregory. They had three daughters: Guenever, Elaine, and Lynette.

Middle life

Pendray became an editor at the ''New York Herald-Tribune'' after completing his graduate work at Columbia University. He remained at the ''Tribune'' for seven years. A science fiction enthusiast, he worked as a science editor for ''Literary Digest'' from 1932 to 1936. He was next hired at Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company as assistant to the president. One of his responsibilities was public relations in advance of the 1939 New York World's Fair. Pendray created what he called a "time capsule", to preserve everyday items in a sealed container for future historians. He also created the word "laundromat" (then a Westinghouse washing machine; now a word for any self-service laundry facility) for Westinghouse.

Career

Pendray's primary employment was in public relations; however, he always was interested in rocketry. He was an early experimenter with liquid propulsion rockets. Pendray was a contemporary of the rocket expert Robert H. Goddard.

Pendray and his associates worked on the beginnings of rocket development and technology, which led to his co-founding of the American Interplanetary Society (which was renamed the American Rocket Society) in 1934. This organization is now the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and awards the "G. Edward Pendray Award" in recognition of his achievements.

Later life

Pendray helped develop the Guggenheim Jet Propulsion Center at the California Institute of Technology and the Guggenheim Laboratories at Princeton University. He also assisted in developing the Guggenheim Institute of Flight Structures at Columbia University. In 1958 he was a consultant to the Select Committee on Astronautics and Space Exploration of the United States House of Representatives. Pendray helped in the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Personal life

Leatrice May Gregory (1905–1971), Pendray's first wife, was born in Colorado City, Texas, and graduated from the University of Wyoming in 1927, where she met Pendray. She was a syndicated newspaper columnist, from 1929 to 1944, and a partner with her husband in a public relations firm, Pendray & Company, from 1945 to 1970. In 1930 she was one of the twelve founders of the American Interplanetary Society and participated in its rocket experiments. The successor of that early organization is the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, which awards a Leatrice Gregory Pendray Scholarship to women undergraduates in science and engineering programs. A daughter, Guenever Lee Knapp (1932–1978), was one of the geologists who tested lunar samples at Princeton University.

Pendray's first wife died of cancer 1971. He married Annice Dean Crema, a widow with two daughters, the following year. She had worked for the public schools of Absecon, New Jersey, as a music supervisor, before retiring. A resident of Jamesburg, New Jersey in 1987 at the age of 86. Surviving were his second wife, two daughters, two step-daughters, a brother, two sisters, ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Positions

* Reporter Laramie, Wyoming ''Republic Boomerang,'' 1923-24
* ''New York Herald-Tribune'' reporter, 1925–30, picture editor, 1930–32, science editor, 1932–33
* Science editor for Literary Digest writing science fiction stories, 1933–36
* Assistant to the president of Westinghouse Electric Company, 1936–45
* Co-founder of Pendray and Company, a public relations firm, 1945-47. Senior partner, 1948–70
* Public relations counsel to over 100 corporations and organizations among some being Great Northern Paper Company, Westinghouse Electric Company, American Machine & Foundry Company, Harry F. Guggenheim Foundation, the World Bank, the American Automobile Association, the Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Foundation, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, Toronto-Dominion Bank of Canada, Canadian Westinghouse, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, American Electric Power, Brookhaven National Laboratories, and Stanford Research Institution.

Education

Pendray went to various colleges and universities.
* Jireh College, Wyoming 1917.
* University of Wyoming, graduated in 1924.
* Columbia University, MA degree, 1925.
* Doctor of Laws, University of Wyoming, 1943.

Work

Pendray sometimes used the pen name "Gawain Edwards"; however, he usually wrote under his own name. He wrote articles and fiction for many magazines. ''Amazing Stories'' praised Edward's ''The Earth Tube'' as "vividly and plausibly written," recommending it "to all lovers of scientific fiction"."In The Realm of Books", ''Amazing Stories'', December 1929, p.862

* ''The Earth Tube,'' 1929
* ''A Rescue From Jupiter'', 1932
* ''Men, Mirrors and Stars,'' 1935
* ''Book of Record of the Time Capsule,'' 1938
* ''City Noise,'' 1940; with Esther Goddard
* ''The Coming Age of Rocket Power,'' 1945
* ''Rocket Development'' 1948; co-editors Robert Goddard and Esther Goddard.
* ''The Guggenheim Medalists'', 1964
* ''The Papers of Robert H. Goddard,'' 3 volumes, 1970; co-edited with Esther Goddard.

See also

*Frank H. Winter
*Harold Horton Sheldon

References

Bibliography

* ''Who Was Who in America,'' Vol. 9 (1985–1989), p. 280. Chicago: Marquis, "Pendray, George Edward"
* ''New York Times'' Biographical Service, September 1987, p. 958
* ''Contemporary Authors,'' vol. 123 (1988), p. 299
* ''Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (1993), p. 919-920
* ''Collier's magazine,'' September 7, 1946, p. 89
*

External links

*
Prelude to the Space Age / The Rocket Societies: 1924-1940
by Frank H. Winter
G. Edward Pendray Papers at Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pendray, George Edward
1901 births
1987 deaths
American public relations people
American science fiction writers
Early spaceflight scientists
American aerospace engineers
Businesspeople from Omaha, Nebraska
People from Jamesburg, New Jersey
People from Niobrara County, Wyoming
University of Wyoming College of Law alumni
American male short story writers
20th-century American novelists
American male novelists
20th-century American businesspeople
19th-century American short story writers
20th-century American short story writers
19th-century American male writers
20th-century American male writers
Engineers from New Jersey
20th-century American engineers
Members of the American Rocket Society