Hall of Fame
Edward Higgins White
- Induction:
- 2013
- Class:
- 1952
Ed White was a two-sport standout during his days at West Point, starring in both track and field and soccer.
The pilot of the Gemini 4 mission, White is the first American to walk in space, doing so on June 3, 1965.
White collected three varsity letters in track and field and graduated as the school record-holder in the 400-meter hurdles. He competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 400 meters and just missed qualifying for the U.S. team, finishing fourth in his heat when three runners advanced.
A three-year member of the soccer team, White helped Army to a 9-0-1 mark and an Eastern Intercollegiate Championship in 1951.
White was selected to the NASA Astronaut Program in 1962, part of a group known as the "New Nine." He was killed in 1967 when a flash fire occurred in the command module during a launch pad test of the Apollo/Saturn space vehicle.
White was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. He was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame and the National Aviation Hall of Fame. White was also awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, the Harmon Trophy as the Outstanding American Aviator of the Year and the General Thomas White Award.
The pilot of the Gemini 4 mission, White is the first American to walk in space, doing so on June 3, 1965.
White collected three varsity letters in track and field and graduated as the school record-holder in the 400-meter hurdles. He competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 400 meters and just missed qualifying for the U.S. team, finishing fourth in his heat when three runners advanced.
A three-year member of the soccer team, White helped Army to a 9-0-1 mark and an Eastern Intercollegiate Championship in 1951.
White was selected to the NASA Astronaut Program in 1962, part of a group known as the "New Nine." He was killed in 1967 when a flash fire occurred in the command module during a launch pad test of the Apollo/Saturn space vehicle.
White was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. He was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame and the National Aviation Hall of Fame. White was also awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, the Harmon Trophy as the Outstanding American Aviator of the Year and the General Thomas White Award.