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EDWARD HIGGINS WHITE II
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Born
November 14, 1930, in San Antonio, Texas. Ed
received a bachelor’s degree from the United
States Military Academy, and a master’s
degree in aeronautical engineering from the
University of Michigan. He also received an
honorary doctorate in astronautics from the
University of Michigan. White and his wife,
Patricia Finegan White, have two children,
Edward and Bonnie Lynn. |
Lieutenant Colonel White was a test pilot in the Air
Force and in 1962 was selected by NASA to become an
astronaut. He was selected as the pilot for Gemini
4, a 4-day mission that circled the earth 62 times.
At that time Gemini 4 was the longest man mission in
space and Lieutenant Colonel White was the first
U.S. Astronaut to walk in space. He was also the
first man to use jet propulsion to maneuver himself
in space. He was subsequently selected to be the
Command Module Pilot for Apollo 1.
While practicing emergency egress procedures in
preparation for the Apollo 1 mission, a flash fire
consumed the spacecraft. Edward H. White made the
ultimate sacrifice and lost his life in service to
the nation and the space program on January 27,
1967, at 36 years of age.
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