Dr. Hermann Oberth
Date: 7 Jul 1955

The foremost authority on rocketry outside the United States was Dr. Hermann Oberth, a Hungarian-born German. America's rocket program architect Wernher von Braun (second from right) was one of Oberth's students.

In 1923, Oberth published a book about rocket travel into outer space. Because of his important writings, many small rocket societies sprang up around the world.

In the spring of 1930, a young Wernher von Braun assisted Oberth in his early experiments in testing a liquid-fueled rocket with about 15 pounds of thrust.

Credit: U.S. Army