The John J. Montgomery Award was created by the National Society of Aerospace Professionals (NSAP) and the
San Diego Aerospace Museum in 1962 for aerospace achievement. It was awarded from 1962 to at least 1964.
John J. Montgomery
The award bears the name of
John Joseph Montgomery
John Joseph Montgomery (February 15, 1858 – October 31, 1911) was an American inventor, physicist, engineer, and professor at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California, who is best known for his invention of controlled heavier-than-a ...
as the first American to fly in a heavier-than-air flying machine in 1884 near
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
. Montgomery later designed gliders in 1903-1905 that were used for the first high-altitude flights by man in public exhibitions at
Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...
and other locations. He died in 1911 experimenting with a new glider design near
San Jose, California
San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...
. Montgomery was also one of the first Americans to investigate the science of aerodynamics using principles of physics.
Recipients
1962
The NASA
X-15
The North American X-15 is a hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft. It was operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as part of the X-plane series of experimental aircraft. The X-15 set spee ...
Program. Seven X-15 pilots and Paul F. Bikle, the then Director of NASA Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, were awarded the first John J. Montgomery Award for aerospace achievement. The pilots were:
Scott Crossfield
Albert Scott Crossfield (October 2, 1921 – April 19, 2006) was an American naval officer and test pilot. In 1953, he became the first pilot to fly at twice the speed of sound. Crossfield was the first of twelve pilots who flew the North America ...
,
Maj. Robert M. White,
Neil A. Armstrong,
John B. McKay,
Joseph A. Walker,
Cdr. Forrest S. Petersen, and
Maj. Robert A. Rushworth.
1963
Project Mercury
Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Un ...
. 26 people associated with Project Mercury including astronauts
M. Scott Carpenter,
L. Gordon Cooper, Jr.,
John H. Glenn, Jr.
John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American United States Marine Corps Aviation, Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space, and the first A ...
, Virgil I. Grissom, Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Donald K. Slayton, and Walter M. Schirra, Jr.; Dr. Robert R. Gilruth, MSC Director; Dr. Walter C. Williams, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator; Kenneth S. Kleinknecht, Project Mercury Manager; Christopher C. Kraft, Jr., Project Mercury Flight Operations Director; Maxime A. Faget, Assistant Director of Engineering and Development; Dr. Charles A. Berry, Medical Operations Chief; Lt. Col. John A. Powers (USAF) (nickname "Shorty"), Mercury Public Affairs Officer; and John Finley Yardley, Mercury Launch Operations Manager.
{{rp, 465
1964
The UGM-27 Polaris, Polaris Program was selected from 13 candidate programs. Awardees included Charles Stark Draper, Derald Stuart, and Dr. George F. Mechlin.
See also
* List of aviation awards
References
External links
Photos of 1962 recipients with Montgomery AwardsPhoto of Virgil Grissom's Montgomery Award from 1963
*Spearman, Arthur Dunning ''John J. Montgomery: Father of Basic Flying''. Santa Clara University 1967 and 2nd ed. 1977.
*Harwood, Craig S. and Fogel, Gary B. ''Quest for Flight: John J. Montgomery and the Dawn of Aviation in the West''. University of Oklahoma Press 2012.
Aviation awards