C. S. Draper

Biography

Abstract

Dr. Charles Stark Draper was Professor Emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1929-1987). His research interests included systems engineering and the measurement of physical processes.

Important Dates

October 2, 1901Birth, Windsor (Mo.).

1922Obtained BA, Stanford University, Stanford (Calif.).

1926Obtained SB in Electrochemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge (Mass.).

1928Obtained SM, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge (Mass.).

1929 – 1987Research Assistant in Aeronautical Engineering (1929-1930); Researcher in Aeronautical Engineering (1930-1935); Assistant Professor to Associate Professor of Aeronautical Engineering (1935-1939); Director, Instrumentation Laboratory (1935-1969); Professor of Aeronautical Engineering (1939-1966); Head, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics (1951-1966); Institute Professor (1966-1966); Emeritus Professor (1966-1987); Vice-Director, Instrumentation Laboratory (1969-1970); President, Charles Stark Draper Laboratories (1970-1973); and Senior Scientist, Charles Stark Draper Laboratories (1973-1987), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge (Mass.).

1938Obtained ScD in Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge (Mass.).

1957Member, National Academy of Sciences.

July 25, 1987Death, Cambridge (Mass.).

Occupation

Aeronautical engineer.

Places

Birth

Windsor (Mo.)

Undergraduate Education

Stanford (Calif.)

Cambridge (Mass.)

Graduate Education

Cambridge (Mass.)

Death

Cambridge (Mass.)

Subjects

Aeronautics.

Engineering physics.

Guidance systems (Flight).

Inertial navigation.

Relationships

People

Advisors & Collaborators

Morse, Philip M. (Philip McCord), 1903-1985

Sc.D. advisor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology on "The physical processes accompanying detonation in the internal combustion engine." Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Colleagues

Birgeneau, Robert J. (Robert Joseph), 1942-

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Bush, Vannevar, 1890-1974

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Compton, K. T. (Karl Taylor), 1887-1954

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Hunsaker, Jerome C. (Jerome Clarke), 1886-1984

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Kastner, Marc A.

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Stever, H. Guyford

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Stratton, Julius Adams, 1901-1994

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Institutions

Major Positions

Charles Stark Draper Laboratory

President and Senior Scientist.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Aeronautical Engineering Department

Research Assistant in Aeronautical Engineering; Researcher in Aeronautical Engineering; Assistant Professor to Associate Professor of Aeronautical Engineering; Professor of Aeronautical Engineering; Director, Instrumentation Laboratory; Head, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics; Institute Professor; Emeritus Professor; and Vice-Director, Instrumentation Laboratory.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering

Obtained SB.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics

Obtained SM and ScD in 1938 in Physics.

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member.

Stanford University. Department of Physics

Obtained BA.

United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

C.S. Draper papers, 1973-1978 (bulk 1939-1973).

Manuscript Division

Library of Congress

James Madison Memorial Building, First Street and Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20540, USA

Charles Stark Draper certificates, 1941-1978.

Archives Division

Smithsonian Institution. National Air and Space Museum

MRC 322, Washington, DC, 20560, USA

Charles Stark Draper oral history collection, 1976.

Institute Archives and Special Collections

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

M.I.T. Libraries, Rm. 14N-118, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

International cooperation in space operations and exploration [sound recording] / proceedings recorded by the American Astronautical Society ; 1971 March 10-11.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Charles Stark Draper, 1983.

Oral History Research Office

Columbia University

Box 20, Room 801 Butler Library, New York, NY 10027, USA

Subject

Albert G. Hill papers, 1943-1981.

Institute Archives and Special Collections

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

M.I.T. Libraries, Rm. 14N-118, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

Edward Lindley Bowles papers, 1869-1990 (bulk 1920-1982).

Manuscript Division

Library of Congress

James Madison Memorial Building, First Street and Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20540, USA

MIT Office of the Chairman records, 1934-1987.

Institute Archives and Special Collections

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

M.I.T. Libraries, Rm. 14N-118, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

MIT Office of the President records of Karl Taylor Compton and James Rhyne Killian, 1930-1959.

Institute Archives and Special Collections

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

M.I.T. Libraries, Rm. 14N-118, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

Oral history interview with Albert Gordon Hill, 1982 June 25.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Athelstan Frederick Spilhaus, 1989 November 10.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with James Brown Fisk, 1976 June 24.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Standing Committee on Special Laboratories records, 1969-1972.

Institute Archives and Special Collections

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

M.I.T. Libraries, Rm. 14N-118, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

Published Resources

Subject

Robert A. Duffy, "Charles Stark Draper: 1901-1987", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences.