Harry George Armstrong (February 17, 1899 – February 5, 1983) was a

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in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

, a physician, and an airman. He is widely recognized as a pioneer in the field of aviation medicine. The "

Armstrong limit The Armstrong limit or Armstrong's line is a measure of altitude above which atmospheric pressure is sufficiently low that water boils at the normal temperature of the human body. Exposure to pressure below this limit results in a rapid loss of ...

", the altitude above which water boils at the temperature of the human body, is named after him. Armstrong served in the Marines during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the army and air force from 1930 to 1957. As director of the United States Aeromedical Research Laboratory, he applied his medical and aviation knowledge to the improvement of aircrew protection from temperature extremes and the lack of oxygen at high altitude.

Early life, education, and military career

Armstrong was born in

De Smet, South Dakota De Smet is a city in and the county seat of Kingsbury County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,089 at the 2010 census. History Located in the area of South Dakota known as "East River" (east of the Missouri River, which diagona ...

, in 1899. He attended the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

, but left after one year to enlist in the

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, serving with them as a private from October 1918 to March 1919. He then entered the

University of South Dakota The University of South Dakota (USD) is a public research university in Vermillion, South Dakota. Established by the Dakota Territory legislature in 1862, 27 years before the establishment of the state of South Dakota, USD is the flagship uni ...

, graduating in 1921. In 1925 he received his Doctor of Medicine Degree from the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one o ...

. He entered the Medical Corps Reserve in April 1925. Armstrong entered the School of Aviation Medicine at Brooks Field, Texas, that September. Upon graduation in 1930, he was commissioned a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

in the Regular Army Medical Corps.

Military career

In 1931, he was attached to the Air Corps and assigned as assistant surgeon. He was promoted to captain in 1932, to major in 1938, lieutenant colonel (temporary) in February 1942, and to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

(temporary) in August 1942. Serving alternately in England and the United States, in 1945 he became surgeon for the Air Division in the office of Military Government for Germany (U.S.), with headquarters in Berlin. In 1946, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel (permanent), returned to the School of Aviation Medicine at Randolph Field upon appointment as assistant commandant, and that July was named commandant. In 1948, he was promoted

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

(temporary), then to

(temporary).

Surgeon General of the Air Force

In June 1949, he was assigned to air force headquarters at

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, as Deputy Surgeon General of the U.S. Air Force, promoted to colonel (permanent) in October, and the following December was designated surgeon general. Armstrong was promoted to brigadier general (permanent) October 9, 1951. In 1954, General Armstrong went to

Wiesbaden, Germany Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

, as Surgeon of the United States Air Forces in Europe.

Later life

Armstrong retired from the air force in 1957. He died in 1983 from heart disease. In 1977, the Harry G. Armstrong Award for Scientific Excellence was created by the Air Force Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory.

Awards and decorations

Ribbon bar

Other awards

* Wellcome Award (1937) * Collier Award (1939) * John Jeffries Award (1941) *Honorary Fellow of

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(HFACHE) (1953) *

Edward Warner Award The Edward Warner Award is an award that's given in the field of aviation to aviation pioneers or organizations that have contributed to civil aviation. The award is named after Edward Pearson Warner, the first President of the council of ICAO. T ...

(1981) *

National Aviation Hall of Fame The National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) is a museum, annual awards ceremony and learning and research center that was founded in 1962 as an Ohio non-profit corporation in Dayton, Ohio, United States, known as the "Birthplace of Aviation" with it ...

(1998)

Published works

Armstrong published 105 scientific papers in the field of aviation medicine and aerospace medicine. *Principles and Practice of Aviation Medicine, Williams & Wilkins (1939) *Aerospace medicine, Williams & Wilkins Co (1961)

Notes

References

Air Force official biography
on the South Dakota World War II Memorial website
Armstrong, Harry: Scientist
on the National Aviation Hall of Fame website
Principles and Practice of Aviation Medicine
on PubMed {{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Harry George 1899 births 1983 deaths University of Minnesota alumni Aviators from South Dakota Collier Trophy recipients United States Marine Corps personnel of World War I United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II American medical researchers High-altitude medicine physicians Surgeons General of the United States Air Force United States Army officers United States Marines Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) United States Army Air Forces officers National Aviation Hall of Fame inductees People from De Smet, South Dakota