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Hermann Oberth (1894 - 1989) was known as the Father of Astronautics. Born in Rumania in 1894, he received his German citizenship in 1941. After extensive studying at Gottingen, Heidelberg, Klausenbury, Munich and Vienna, he became a teacher, having at one time Dr. Wernher von Braun as his pupil. In 1923 he published his first work, The Rocket to the Planets, the first book to treat the theory of rockets as applicable to space flight in a scientific manner. Oberth was one of the three great rocket pioneers of the world, along with Professor Goddard of America and Professor Ziolkovsky of Russia.

Identifier

NASM.1989.0091

Creator

Oberth, Hermann, 1894-1989

Date

1923, 1955-1959

bulk 1958-1959

Provenance

Anton Palmai, Gift, 1989, 1989-0091, NASM

Extent

0.23 Cubic feet ((1 slim legal document box))

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of material in German and English documenting Oberth's life and career in the field of astronautics. The information includes six photographs, an article written by him for Space Journal, correspondence between Dr. Oberth and the donor Anton Palmai, and four books, three of which are in German.

Rights

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests

Restrictions

No restrictions on access

Topics

Space flight

Rockets (Aeronautics)

Rocketry

Astronautics

Type

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Publications

Correspondence

Articles

Photographs