Wernher von Braun: Difference between revisions

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'''Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr¹ von Braun''' ([[March 23]] [[1912]] – [[June 16]] [[1977]]) was one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in [[Germany]] and the [[United States]]. Originally a German [[scientist]] leading [[Nazi Germany]]'s rocket program before and during the [[Second World War]], he entered the United States at the end of the war through the then-secret [[Operation Paperclip]]. He became a naturalized [[United States|US]] citizen and worked on the American [[ICBM]] program before joining [[NASA]]. Today he is generally regarded as the father of the [[United States space program]].

== Early life ==

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Wernher von Braun was born in [[Wirsitz]], [[East Prussia]] (now [[Wyrzysk]], [[Poland]]). Upon his [[Lutheran]] confirmation his mother gave him a [[telescope]] and he discovered a passion for astronomy and the realm of space. When, as a result of the [[Treaty of Versailles]], Wirsitz became part of [[Poland]] in [[1920]], his family, like many other German families, moved. They settled in [[Berlin]] where at first von Braun did not do well in [[physics]] and [[mathematics]] until he acquired a copy of the book ''[[Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen]]'' (''The Rocket into Interplanetary Space'') by rocket pioneer [[Hermann Oberth]]. From then on he applied himself at school in order to understand physics and mathematics. One anecdote from this period is the time the 16 year old von Braun caused a major disruption by firing off a toy wagon to which he had attached a number of [[firecracker]]s. The young von Braun was taken into custody by the local police until his father came to collect him.

In [[1930]] von Braun attended the [[Technical University of Berlin|Berlin Institute of Technology]] where he joined the ''[[Verein für Raumschiffahrt]]'' (VfR, the "Spaceflight Society") and assisted [[Hermann Oberth]] in liquid-fuelled rocket motor tests. After receiving his degree he commenced postgraduate studies at [[Berlin University]], earning a [[doctorate]] in [[physics]] in [[1934]].

== German career ==