Millikan, Clark

Millikan, Clark (Blanchard)

(1903–66) physicist, aerodynamicist; born in Chicago, Ill. Enthusiastic and outgoing, he played a major role in the worldwide development of aeronautical and space programs. He helped the California Institute of Technology become a major force in aeronautical education and research (1928–66), establishing a graduate school of aeronautics (1925), offering the first course in jet propulsion (1945), and cofounding the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.