Way to go Herb! Congratulations. 
All-Time Top 100 Stars of Aerospace & Aviation Announced
Wednesday June 18, 3:00 pm ET
Wright Brothers, Wernher von Braun Earn Top Ranking as Most Important and Influential Ever in Aviation Week's 'Top 100 Stars of Aerospace' Poll
NEW YORK, June 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In the year commemorating the 100th anniversary of The Wright Brothers historic flight, Wilbur and Orville Wright, followed by Wernher von Braun, Robert Goddard, Leonardo da Vinci, Glenn Curtiss, Charles A. Lindbergh, William L. "Billy" Mitchell, Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson, Neil A. Armstrong, Daniel Bernoulli were voted the top 10 luminaries in aviation and aerospace history in a poll of industry professionals unveiled today.
Aviation Week's Aviation Week's "Top 100 Stars of Aerospace" poll, a first-ever initiative to identify the most important, most interesting and most influential people in the global aerospace community -- past and present -- was revealed today at a gala event of industry professionals in Paris.
As voted by their peers, the most important aviation and aerospace personalities of all-time are as follows:
1 Wilbur and Orville Wright
2 Wernher von Braun
3 Robert Goddard
4 Leonardo da Vinci
5 Glenn Curtiss
6 Charles A. Lindbergh
7 William L. "Billy" Mitchell
8 Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson
9 Neil A. Armstrong
10 Daniel Bernoulli
11 Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager
12 Otto Lilienthal
13 Buzz Aldrin
14 William Boeing
15 Alan B. Shepard, Jr.
16 Henry H. "Hap" Arnold
17 Manfred von Richthofen
18 Samuel P. Langley
19 Igor I. Sikorsky
20 Jules Verne
21 John K. Northrop
22 Herb Kelleher
23 Edward V. "Eddie" Rickenbacker
24 Jacques-Etienne and Joseph-Michel Montgolfier
25 tie Christopher Kraft
25 tie Antoine de Saint-Exupery
26 Curtis LeMay
27 Ernst Mach
28 Juan Trippe
29 Elbert "Burt" Rutan
30 Theodore von Karman
31 Alberto Santos-Dumont
32 James Van Allen
33 Alexander Graham Bell
34 Ben Rich
35 Alvin M. "Tex" Johnston
36 Richard Branson
37 Yuri Gagarin
38 Octave Chanute
39 James "Jimmy" H. Doolittle
40 Alexandre Gustave Eiffel
41 Robert "Bob" Crandall
42 Space Shuttle Challenger Crew
43 Louis Bleriot
44 Donald Douglas
45 Claire L. Chenault
46 Will Rogers
47 James A. Lovell, Jr.
48 Robert "Bob" Hoover
49 tie Thomas H. Kelly
49 tie Clement Ader
50 Hugh Dryden
51 Pierre-Georges Latecoere
52 tie Marcel Bloch (Dassault)
52 tie Roger Beteille
53 Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom
54 Ferdinand von Zeppelin
55 Jacqueline Auriol
56 Arthur C. Clarke
57 Isoroku Yamamoto
58 Daniel and Harry Guggenheim
59 Anne Morrow Lindbergh
60 Robert J. Collier
61 Gregory "Pappy" Boyington
62 Elmer Sperry
63 James "Jimmy" Stewart
64 Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan
65 Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
66 tie Patricia "Patty" Wagstaff
66 tie Frank Whittle
67 tie Carl Sagan
67 tie Sergey Korolyov
68 Albert Boyd
69 Rene Leduc
70 John W. Young
71 Gene Roddenberry
72 Valentina Tereshkova
73 Thomas E. Braniff
74 Walter C. "Walt" Williams
75 Jean Mermoz
76 Henri and Maurice Farman
77 Paul Poberezny
78 Jean Bertin
79 Sally K. Ride
80 Roland Garros
81 Osborne Reynolds
82 Amelia Earhart
83 Georges Guynemer
84 H.G. Wells
85 Jean-Pierre Haignere
86 tie James S. McDonnell, Jr.
86 tie Robert Esnault-Pelterie
87 tie Allan and Malcom Loughhead (Lockheed)
87 tie Marcel Bouilloux-Lafont
88 Richard Bong
89 John H. Glenn, Jr.
90 tie James E. Webb
90 tie Freddie Laker
91 Lawrence Sperry
92 Douglas Bader
93 Howard Hughes
94 Willy Messerschmitt
95 Louis Breguet
96 William A. Moffett
97 William "Bull" Halsey
98 George Mueller
99 Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe
100 Boris Petrov
"These men and women are the dreamers and doers who have changed the way we live. Every aspect of modern life is affected because of their accomplishments, inspiration and vision of flight," said Aviation Week Group Executive Vice President/Publisher Kenneth E. Gazzola. "The list is truly global -- 20 from France alone -- which demonstrates that the desire to go higher and faster is shared by people all over the earth."
Additional information, including biographical sketches and the top three finishers in 15 different categories, is available at www.AviationNow.com.
The Top 100 program, part of Aviation Week's The Next Century of Flight (NCF) education and outreach initiative, is produced in partnership with the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS) and its U.S. affiliate, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).
The voting website, designed and hosted by IBM, featured more than 760 candidates in 15 categories. To ensure the credibility and professional caliber of the Top 100 results, the ballot was only open to ICAS and AIAA affiliates and members, Aviation Week group subscribers and Next Century of Flight program partners.
All-Time Top 100 Stars of Aerospace & Aviation Announced
Wednesday June 18, 3:00 pm ET
Wright Brothers, Wernher von Braun Earn Top Ranking as Most Important and Influential Ever in Aviation Week's 'Top 100 Stars of Aerospace' Poll
NEW YORK, June 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In the year commemorating the 100th anniversary of The Wright Brothers historic flight, Wilbur and Orville Wright, followed by Wernher von Braun, Robert Goddard, Leonardo da Vinci, Glenn Curtiss, Charles A. Lindbergh, William L. "Billy" Mitchell, Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson, Neil A. Armstrong, Daniel Bernoulli were voted the top 10 luminaries in aviation and aerospace history in a poll of industry professionals unveiled today.
Aviation Week's Aviation Week's "Top 100 Stars of Aerospace" poll, a first-ever initiative to identify the most important, most interesting and most influential people in the global aerospace community -- past and present -- was revealed today at a gala event of industry professionals in Paris.
As voted by their peers, the most important aviation and aerospace personalities of all-time are as follows:
1 Wilbur and Orville Wright
2 Wernher von Braun
3 Robert Goddard
4 Leonardo da Vinci
5 Glenn Curtiss
6 Charles A. Lindbergh
7 William L. "Billy" Mitchell
8 Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson
9 Neil A. Armstrong
10 Daniel Bernoulli
11 Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager
12 Otto Lilienthal
13 Buzz Aldrin
14 William Boeing
15 Alan B. Shepard, Jr.
16 Henry H. "Hap" Arnold
17 Manfred von Richthofen
18 Samuel P. Langley
19 Igor I. Sikorsky
20 Jules Verne
21 John K. Northrop
22 Herb Kelleher
23 Edward V. "Eddie" Rickenbacker
24 Jacques-Etienne and Joseph-Michel Montgolfier
25 tie Christopher Kraft
25 tie Antoine de Saint-Exupery
26 Curtis LeMay
27 Ernst Mach
28 Juan Trippe
29 Elbert "Burt" Rutan
30 Theodore von Karman
31 Alberto Santos-Dumont
32 James Van Allen
33 Alexander Graham Bell
34 Ben Rich
35 Alvin M. "Tex" Johnston
36 Richard Branson
37 Yuri Gagarin
38 Octave Chanute
39 James "Jimmy" H. Doolittle
40 Alexandre Gustave Eiffel
41 Robert "Bob" Crandall
42 Space Shuttle Challenger Crew
43 Louis Bleriot
44 Donald Douglas
45 Claire L. Chenault
46 Will Rogers
47 James A. Lovell, Jr.
48 Robert "Bob" Hoover
49 tie Thomas H. Kelly
49 tie Clement Ader
50 Hugh Dryden
51 Pierre-Georges Latecoere
52 tie Marcel Bloch (Dassault)
52 tie Roger Beteille
53 Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom
54 Ferdinand von Zeppelin
55 Jacqueline Auriol
56 Arthur C. Clarke
57 Isoroku Yamamoto
58 Daniel and Harry Guggenheim
59 Anne Morrow Lindbergh
60 Robert J. Collier
61 Gregory "Pappy" Boyington
62 Elmer Sperry
63 James "Jimmy" Stewart
64 Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan
65 Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
66 tie Patricia "Patty" Wagstaff
66 tie Frank Whittle
67 tie Carl Sagan
67 tie Sergey Korolyov
68 Albert Boyd
69 Rene Leduc
70 John W. Young
71 Gene Roddenberry
72 Valentina Tereshkova
73 Thomas E. Braniff
74 Walter C. "Walt" Williams
75 Jean Mermoz
76 Henri and Maurice Farman
77 Paul Poberezny
78 Jean Bertin
79 Sally K. Ride
80 Roland Garros
81 Osborne Reynolds
82 Amelia Earhart
83 Georges Guynemer
84 H.G. Wells
85 Jean-Pierre Haignere
86 tie James S. McDonnell, Jr.
86 tie Robert Esnault-Pelterie
87 tie Allan and Malcom Loughhead (Lockheed)
87 tie Marcel Bouilloux-Lafont
88 Richard Bong
89 John H. Glenn, Jr.
90 tie James E. Webb
90 tie Freddie Laker
91 Lawrence Sperry
92 Douglas Bader
93 Howard Hughes
94 Willy Messerschmitt
95 Louis Breguet
96 William A. Moffett
97 William "Bull" Halsey
98 George Mueller
99 Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe
100 Boris Petrov
"These men and women are the dreamers and doers who have changed the way we live. Every aspect of modern life is affected because of their accomplishments, inspiration and vision of flight," said Aviation Week Group Executive Vice President/Publisher Kenneth E. Gazzola. "The list is truly global -- 20 from France alone -- which demonstrates that the desire to go higher and faster is shared by people all over the earth."
Additional information, including biographical sketches and the top three finishers in 15 different categories, is available at www.AviationNow.com.
The Top 100 program, part of Aviation Week's The Next Century of Flight (NCF) education and outreach initiative, is produced in partnership with the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS) and its U.S. affiliate, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).
The voting website, designed and hosted by IBM, featured more than 760 candidates in 15 categories. To ensure the credibility and professional caliber of the Top 100 results, the ballot was only open to ICAS and AIAA affiliates and members, Aviation Week group subscribers and Next Century of Flight program partners.
