Lewis B. Sanborn (born: July 10, 1930

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

) is an early developer of the freefall method of skydiving who along with Jacques-André Istel helped popularize sport

parachuting Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes. For ...

in the United States. He is considered by many to be a pioneer and legend in the sport. In 1959, Sanborn and Istel co-founded Parachutes Incorporated, the first commercial parachuting center in the United States. An accomplished pilot, member of the United States Army’s

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

from 1948 to 1952, national skydiving champion in 1954 and 1959 and hall of fame skydiver (introductory class 2010) He continues to jump on a regular basis and is still very active in the skydiving community. Lewis “Lew” Sanborn, D-1 and Jacques André Istel, D-2, established sport skydiving in the United States in the 1950s. Sanborn started jumping with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and later became a member of the U.S. Parachute Team, master rigger, private and commercial pilot, instructor, national judge and world-record holder. He devised a technique for freefall photography and shot a cover photo for Sports Illustrated. In 1960, he was even nominated for an Academy Award for filming the skydiving documentary “A Sport is Born.” In 1972, USPA honored him with its Lifetime Achievement Award “for originating safe and reliable parachuting equipment and pioneering work in freefall photography.” In 2000, Istel inducted him into the Hall of Fame of Parachuting in Felicity, California. In 2001, the Golden Knights made him an honorary member, and in 2010, the International Skydiving Museum inducted him into its Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanborn, Lew Living people 1930 births American skydivers History of parachuting United States Army Air Forces pilots