Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr. (October 2, 1935 - December 8, 1967) was a United States Air Force officer and the first African-American astronaut.
At the age of 16, he graduated in the top 10 percent from Englewood High School in Chicago. At the age of 20, he graduated from Bradley University with a Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry. At Bradley, he distinguished himself as Cadet Commander in the Air Force ROTC and received the commission of Second Lieu...
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Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr. (October 2, 1935 - December 8, 1967) was a United States Air Force officer and the first African-American astronaut.
At the age of 16, he graduated in the top 10 percent from Englewood High School in Chicago. At the age of 20, he graduated from Bradley University with a Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry. At Bradley, he distinguished himself as Cadet Commander in the Air Force ROTC and received the commission of Second Lieutenant in the Air Force Reserve Program.
At the age of 21 he was designated as a U.S. Air Force pilot after completing flight training at Malden Air Force Base.
At 22, he married Barbara Cress, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Henry Cress of Chicago. By the time he was 25, he had completed an Air Force assignment as an instructor pilot in the T-33 training aircraft for the German Air Force.
In 1965, Lawrence earned a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Ohio State University. His dissertation related to that part of chemistry which involved the conversion...
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