Robert Hutchings Goddard was born October 5, 1882, in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Despite his mother’s warnings that he could “go sailing away and might not be able to come back,” Goddard’s father encouraged his curiosity, buying him a telescope, microscope, and subscription to Scientific American. He was fascinated with flight, especially kites and balloons. From this early age, he got himself in the habit of keeping detailed diaries of his experiments, a practice he carried through to his adulthood.

After reading H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds, Goddard became very interested in space. And on October 19, 1899, while climbing atop a cherry tree to cut off dead limbs, he looked to the sky and imagined traveling to Mars. He later said, “I was a different boy when I descended the tree… Existence at last seemed very purposive.” From that day on, he celebrated October 19 as “Anniversary Day” – the day of his “greatest inspiration.”

Goddard successfully launched his first rocket on March 16, 1926. He went on to launch another 34 between then and 1941, reaching altitudes of 1.62 miles and speeds of 550 miles per hour. His pioneer work was largely unrecognized during his time but since his death in 1945, a gold medal, a space flight center in Maryland, several schools, and a crater on the moon have been named in his honor.