Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr.

Profession: Astronaut

Nationality:

Biography: Robert Henry Lawrence Jr. was an American astronaut and military officer. He was the first African-American to be selected as an astronaut.

Lawrence was born in 1935 in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from Bradley University in 1956 with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry. In 1965, he earned a PhD in physical chemistry from Ohio State University.

Lawrence joined the United States Air Force and became a pilot. He flew over 2,500 hours, with 2,000 of those hours in jets. Finally in June of 1967 he was selected as an astronaut in the Air Force's Manned Orbital Laboratory (MOL) program.

Sadly Lawrence died in a plane crash at Edwards Air Force Base in 1967 at the age of 32. He was flying as an instructor pilot when the accident occurred.

He was posthumously honored with the inscription of his name on the Space Mirror Memorial at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

In 2020, NASA named an asteroid after Lawrence as part of a group of 27 pioneering African-American, Hispanic, and Native American astronauts. The Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft, launched in the same year, was also named in his honor.

Born: October 2, 1935
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, USA

Generation: Silent Generation
Chinese Zodiac: Pig
Star Sign: Libra

Died: December 8, 1967 (aged 32)
Cause of Death: Killed during training in a plane crash of an F-104 Starfighter