Portrait of Edgar Cortright

Birthday profile

Edgar Cortright

Edgar Cortright, American scientist and engineer (died 2014)

Born
July 29, 1923
Died
May 4, 2014
Zodiac sign
Leo
Birth year
1923

About Edgar Cortright

Edgar Maurice Cortright (July 29, 1923 – May 4, 2014) was a scientist and engineer, and senior official at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States. His most prominent positions during his career were Director of NASA's Langley Research Center, and Chairman of the Apollo 13 Review Board which investigated the explosion that occurred during the Apollo 13 spaceflight in 1970. == Education == Cortright was born on July 29, 1923, in Hastings, Pennsylvania, a coal mining district in the west of the state. His family moved to the Philadelphia area where he attended high school. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree followed by a Master of Science degree in aeronautical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in 1947 and 1949. At RPI, he was roommates with George Low (who went on to become NASA Administrator, and later President of RPI). He attended the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Nuclear Engineering School in 1957. Later, in 1975, he got a Doctor of Engineering degree from Rensselaer (during his time as Director at NASA Langley). He gained membership to the Stephen Van Rensselaer Society of Patroons, people who have donate $1 million or more to Rensselaer. == Family == His parents were Janet Pearsall Cortright and Edgar Maurice Cortright Sr.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

The world when Edgar Cortright was born

Edgar Cortright was born in 1923. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1923

  • #1 song"Yes! We Have No Bananas"
  • Top movieThe Ten Commandments (Cecil B. DeMille)
  • Best-selling bookBlack Oxen – Gertrude Atherton

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentFirst 24 Hours of Le Mans race
  • Top headlineTime magazine publishes its first issue
  • Technology milestoneFirst neon signs appear in the United States
  • Defining fadDance marathons
  • Notable inventionFrozen food process (Clarence Birdseye)
  • World population1.93 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderWarren G. Harding / Calvin Coolidge
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • U.S. population111.9M

1923 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Edgar Cortright's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19232026
Gas$0.22$3.45/gal
Average home$5,700$435,000
Average income$3,380$67,500
Movie ticket$0.15$11.95
Postage stamp$0.02$0.73
Population111.9M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, National Academy of Engineering, Internet Speculative Fiction Database, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.