Lovell Lawrence Jr. (1915 – 1971) was an American
rocket scientist who developed the first engine to break the
sound barrier while working with
Reaction Motors, Inc.
Biography
Lovell Lawrence Jr. was born in 1915 to mining engineer,
Lovell Lawrence Sr. and
Ellen Lawrence in
Pompton Lakes, New Jersey. Lawrence had two brothers,
Robert M. Lawrence and
Edmund Pond Lawrence. In 1942, three years before he would make significant breakthroughs in rocketry, Lawrence experience the death of his father, then living in Tucson, Arizona, at 54 years of age.
Lawrence Jr. died from cancer on January 24, 1971, at St. John's Hospital at 55 years of age.
Career
Lovell Lawrence Jr. was a founding member of the
American Rocket Society in the 1930s and erelong was named President in 1946. Between 1943 and 1941, Lawrence worked as assistant to the Chief Engineer of
IBM. In 1941, Lawrence founded Reaction Motors, Inc. with
John Shesta
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
,
James Wylde, and
Hugh Franklin Pierce in order to secure an offered $5,000 Navy contract for rocket development. Reaction Motors, Inc. continued under the aegis of Lawrence until his departure in 1953 to pursue a variety of positions with
Chrysler
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...
, culminating in his promotion to Chief Research Engineer in 1964.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence Jr., Lawrence
1915 births
1977 deaths
People from Pompton Lakes, New Jersey
Rocket scientists