George William Goddard immigrated to the United States as a young man of 14. He joined the U.S. Air Service in 1917 and attended the first school in aerial photography at Cornell University. This set the course of his career in which he rose to become the leading advocate and expert in the field of aero science. He received his pilot rating in the early 1920s. As Chief Photographic Officer for the U.S. Army Air Corps, Goddard became a pioneer in developing night photography with artificial illumination, light-activated shutters, color photography, rapid film processing, high altitude reconnaissance, stereoscopic photography, and strip film cameras. In the 1930s he single handedly carried out extensive photographic mapping of vast areas of the Philippines and Alaska. In the 1940 to 1945 time period he directed the design of reconnaissance aircraft and equipment without which World War II might have lasted far longer and cost untold additional lives. George Goddard was the guiding light behind the development of long focal length aerial cameras. The improvement and size reduction of this equipment was the logical step to space photography. The direct outgrowth of his system of picture transmission from air to ground is seen in the magnificent photography from the Viking spacecraft on Mars. Through many years of perseverance, he succeeded in conquering bureaucracy and the lack of funds in order to advance highly sophisticated aerial photographic and reconnaissance systems. The culmination of this effort was the timely detection of the 1962 missile build-up in Cuba. The systems he pioneered and developed assist in maintaining world peace and in cataloging earth resources. They can be seen most dramatically in photos returned from the moon, Mars, Jupiter, and beyond.
Inducted in 1976.
Portrait Location: Not Currently on Floor