Charles Stark Draper

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Charles Stark Draper (October 2, 1901 – July 25, 1987) is often referred to as "the father of inertial navigation." Born in Windsor, Missouri, he attended the University of Missouri in 1917, Stanford University, California in 1919, and MIT in 1922. While at MIT, he founded the Instrumentation Laboratory in the 1930s, later spun off as The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.

Draper invented and developed the technology used in aircraft, space vehicles, and submarines which allows such vehicles to sense changes in direction by using gyroscopes and similar devices. A pioneering figure in the aircraft engineering field, he also contributed to the Apollo space program with his knowledge of guidance systems.

The Charles Stark Draper Prize is a prominent prize in engineering devoted to the memory of Charles Stark Draper. Charles Stark Draper's relatives were rather prominent in his Missouri birthplace, including his cousin, Governor Lloyd C. Stark.

[edit] Books

• Inventing accuracy : an historical sociology of nuclear missile guidance by Donald MacKenzie, MIT Press, 1990.