Frederick Clark Durant III (December 31, 1916- October 21, 2015) was an American author, naval test pilot, chemical engineer, and expert in rocketry and spaceflight. Durant served as a "key advisor" to U.S. military, intelligence, and space-flight programs, playing a central role in

Project Orbiter Project Orbiter was a proposed United States spacecraft, an early competitor to Project Vanguard. It was jointly run by the United States Army and United States Navy. It was ultimately rejected by the Ad Hoc Committee on Special Capabilities, whi ...

, the first US satellite program. In his later years, Durant served as assistant director of the

National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...

and an editor of Encyclopædia Britannica.

Childhood and education

Durant was a descendant of

Thomas C. Durant Thomas Clark Durant (February 6, 1820 – October 5, 1885) was an American physician, businessman, and financier. He was vice-president of the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) in 1869 when it met with the Central Pacific railroad at Promontory Su ...

and engineer Joseph Harrison, Jr. Durant's father was Frederick C. Durant Jr., an engineer educated at MIT and the Colorado School of Mines, who became president of a telephone company Fred C. Durant III graduated the Haverford preparatory school in 1934. In 1939, Durant earned a B.S. degree in chemical engineering from Lehigh University. From 1939 to 1941, Durant was employed as a chemical engineer with the E.I. Du Pont de Nemours & Co., at Pennsgrove, New Jersey.

Aviator

In May 1941, Durant enlisted as a US naval aviation cadet. Durant went on to serve as naval aviator and flight instructor. In 1946, retired from the Navy at the rank of Commander in the Naval Reserves. In 1951, Durant returned to service as a test pilot, ultimately flying some 30 different types of aircraft.

Rocketry and spaceflight

In 1947, Durant began work as a rocket engineer with Bell Aircraft in Buffalo New York. From 1948 to 1951, he served as Director of Engineering at the U.S. Naval Air Rocket Test Station at Dover, New Jersey. In 1953, he became the president of the American Rocket Society Durant was a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society, the German Society for Aviation and Space Flight (DGLR), and the

Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of t ...

Durant was a consultant to the Department of Defense, Bell Aerosystems Co., Central Intelligence Agency, others. From 1954 to 1955, Durant was part of

, along with von Braun.

Later life: Smithsonian director and author

In 1961, Durant moved to D.C., where he would stay until 1999. In 1965, Durant became the assistant director of National Air and Space Museum. He retired from that post in 1980. During his time at the Smithsonian, Durant wrote articles for Encyclopædia Britannica on rockets and spaceflight. In 1983, Durant collaborated with Ron Miller and illustrator

Chesley Bonestell Chesley Knight Bonestell Jr. (January 1, 1888 – June 11, 1986) was an American painter, designer and illustrator. His paintings inspired the American space program, and they have been (and remain) influential in science fiction art and illustr ...

on a book entitled ''Worlds Beyond.'' The book features a foreword by

Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science-fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A Spac ...

Personal life

Durant was a lifelong member of Society of American Magicians. He married Celeste Bennett, who died from hepatitis In 1947, Durant married Carolyn Jones ("Pip"). He was father to three sons and one daughter. Durant died in 2015, being preceded in death by his two of his sons: Derek and William.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Durant, Frederick C. 20th-century American engineers Early spaceflight scientists NASA people Space advocates Aviators from Pennsylvania American magicians 1916 births 2015 deaths Lehigh University alumni Haverford School alumni People from Ardmore, Pennsylvania