I'm not making this up. We visited Lowell Observatory during our trip to Flagstaff this weekend. The visitor's center had a large display dedicated to E.G. Pennybaker - possibly the most amazing and inspiring person you've never heard of.
TL;DR
I'll try to summarize this amazing life in a few sentences.
E.G. Pennybaker was a poor farm boy who became a daring World War I fighter pilot. He struck black gold and became a millionaire overnight. He started an Aerospace company and taught himself physics, etc. He left the company and flew around the world in a plane he designed and built himself. Finally, he made it his mission to protect Earth from asteroids. He died test-piloting a sub-orbital rocket plane at age 71. He donated all of his money to foundations supporting space education and research.
How is this not a movie yet?
Pictures
The exhibit included amazing pictures of Pennybaker's time as a WW I Fighter pilot.
All I can say is ... World War I fighter pilot. Legendary.
Born in 1896 to Irish immigrant parents, Pennybaker was ambitious from the start. He was fascinated with the Wright brothers and the early days of flight. In 1916, during the first years of the Great War, Pennybaker took a steamer ship to England and enlisted in the Royal Air Corps.
Badass. Check out this YouTube video on World War I Dogfights.
Pennybaker's aviator hat, silk scarf and goggles.
Pennybaker served valiantly in World War I, becoming one of the Corps' best pilots. When he returned home he discovered his parents had died from the Spanish Flu, leaving the 22-year-old Pennybaker the last living member of his family. Distraught, pennybaker continued to farm on his parents' land in Pennsylvania. While plowing his fields one day, Pennybaker struck oil. It was one of the largest wells discovered at the time, and overnight the young Pennybaker became a millionaire.
War Hero Pennybaker strikes black gold! Fabulous Wealth! A stroke of luck has turned E.G. Pennybaker's life around. Born to Irish immigrant parents, Pennybaker enjoyed life on their rural Pennsylvania farm. ...
Inspired by his love of flying and his new interest in science fiction, in 1924 he founded the Pennybaker Aerospace Corporation with the goal of one-day reaching the Moon. The company was successful, but Pennybaker had bigger dreams.
He designed and built a cutting-edge airplane. Painted a brilliant shade of red, the Dauntless was twenty years ahead of its time. Selling all his shares of his company in 1928, Pennybaker set out on an adventure around the world aboard the Dauntless.
A model of The Dauntless.
In 1957, after years of traveling abroad, Pennybaker returned to the US after reading about Sputnik. Technology, it seemed, was catching up with his dreams of going to the Moon.
The New York Times on Sputnik.
Motivated by science fiction, Pennybaker's attention shifted away from the Moon to asteroids. Wild mountains of precious metals promised Pennybaker an adventure even greater than his journey around the world in the Dauntless. He began teaching himself astronomy, physics and planetary science. In 1966 he published a book on the potential threat of asteroids. Taking his massive personal fortune, he founded the Space Guard Research Institute (SGRI).
S.G.R.I. was dedicated to understanding the threat posed by asteroids and then designing and building machines that could defend the planet from them. In 1969, tragedy struck. While test piloting a sub-orbital rocket plane, the 71 year-old Pennybaker died in a crash landing.
Stay Tuned for more on Asteroids and the SGRI in part 2 of this post - including a 360 Google Cardboard view of the exhibit (coming soon).
Image credits
All images were taken by the author with his Google Pixel XL phone.
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