John Edgar Ainsworth (June 28, 1920 – September 30, 2004) was a physicist and

polymath A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...

who worked for

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

. Ainsworth was the primary designer of the

Pioneer Venus The Pioneer Venus project was part of the Pioneer program consisting of two spacecraft, the Pioneer Venus Orbiter and the Pioneer Venus Multiprobe, launched to Venus in 1978. The program was managed by NASA's Ames Research Center. The Pione ...

probe.

Personal life

Ainsworth married Anne Elizabeth Kidder (1924–2015) on August 27th, 1952 in Berkeley, CA. Together, Anne and John had three children, Martha, Julie, and Paul. John Ainsworth died on September 30, 2004.

References

1920 births 2004 deaths 20th-century American physicists NASA people University of Maryland, College Park alumni Harvard College alumni St. John's College (Annapolis/Santa Fe) alumni {{US-physicist-stub