Goddard, George W., 1889-1987

U.S. Air Force officer; b. George William Goddard; d. 1987.

From the description of Papers, 1889-1983 (bulk 1940-1976). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 28424344

A member of the 1857 handcart group from Salt Lake to Florence, Nebraska.

From the description of Letter, December 21, 1893. (Utah Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 122497875

U.S. Air Force officer, known as the father of modern aerial photographic reconnaissance; died 1987.

From the description of Papers of George W. Goddard, 1889-1984 (bulk 1940-1976). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 71132497

Biographical Note

• 1889, June 15: Born, Tunbridge Wells, England
• 1904: Moved to Syracuse, N.Y., to live with relatives
• 1910: Graduated, Washington Irving Preparatory School, New York, N.Y.
• 1912 - 1917 : Free-lanced in Rochester, N.Y., as cartoonist and illustrator Staff artist for Coke and Iron Monthly, Chicago, Ill.
• 1917: Enlisted in the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps, United States Army
• 1918: Graduated, First Officer's School in Aerial Photography, School of Military Aeronautics, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. Appointed instructor of aerial photographic interpretation, School of Military Aeronautics Naturalized in Syracuse, N.Y.
• 1919: Assigned to McCook Field, Dayton, Ohio, by Gen. William "Billy" Mitchell; appointed officer-in-charge of aerial photographic research
• 1920: Promoted to first lieutenant and appointed officer-in-charge of aerial photography in the Office of the Chief of the Air Corps, Washington, D.C.
• 1924: Reappointed officer-in-charge of aerial photographic research, McCook Field, Dayton, Ohio
• 1927 - 1929 : Appointed commanding officer of the Sixth Photographic Section, Camp Nichols, Philippine Islands
• 1929: Named director of the Army Photographic School, Chanute Field, Rantoul, Ill.
• 1934: Promoted to captain Supervised aerial mapping operations in central and northern Alaska
• 1936: Appointed chief of aerial photographic research and development, Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio
• 1940: Promoted to major
• 1942: Promoted to lieutenant colonel Developed the first stereoscopic strip camera
• 1943: Married Elizabeth Hayes
• 1944: Awarded Legion of Merit for work at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio Assisted United States Navy with aerial photographic reconnaissance in England and France
• 1945: Appointed photographic disarmament officer and assigned to Germany Awarded Oak Leaf Cluster for the Legion of Merit and the French Croix de Guerre
• 1946: Assigned to Bikini Island in connection with atom bomb testing
• 1948: Promoted to colonel
• 1950: Received the Thurman H. Bane Award from the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences Granted patent for the flashlight cartridge and camera night aerial photographic system
• 1951: Received the Progress Medal Award from the Photographic Society of America
• 1952: Promoted to brigadier general and appointed director of reconnaissance, Allied Air Forces in Central Europe, Fontainbleu, France
• 1953: Retired from air force Photographic director, Bulova Research and Development Laboratories, N.Y.
• 1959: Assistant to the president, Itek Laboratories, Boston, Mass.
• 1962: Asked by Gen. Curtis LeMay to make stereo strips of Cuban missile sites with the stereoscopic strip camera
• 1969: With coauthor DeWitt S. Copp published autobiography Overview: A Life-long Adventure in Aerial Photography. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday Retired from Itek Laboratories
• 1976: Inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame and the International Aerospace Hall of Fame
• 1987, Sept. 20.: Died, Boca Raton, Fla.

From the guide to the George W. Goddard Papers, 1889-1984, (bulk 1940-1976), (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)