Parsons, Jack Whiteside, 1914-1952

Jack Parsons; rocket engineer; born Marvel Whiteside Parsons, October 2, 1914, Los Angeles, California; died June 17, 1952, Pasadena, California; also known as John Whiteside Parsons; American rocket engineer, chemist, and Thelemite occultist. Associated with the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Parsons was one of the principal founders of both the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the Aerojet Engineering Corporation. He invented the first rocket engine to use a castable, composite rocket propellant,[1] and pioneered the advancement of both liquid-fuel and solid-fuel rockets.

Scientist of the Day Jack Parsons; Jack Whiteside Parsons, an American rocketeer, was born Oct. 2, 1914. On Oct. 31, 1936, Parsons teamed up with Frank Malina, a Caltech graduate student, and three others to successfully ignite a small solid-fuel rocket in an isolated area of Pasadena known as Arroyo Seco.