Hugh Latimer Dryden Sr. (1898 - 1965)

Born 2 Jul 1898 in District 4 (Dublin), Somerset County, Maryland, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Libbie (Travers) Dryden — married 29 Jan 1920 (to 2 Dec 1965) in Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Died 2 Dec 1965 at age 67 in NIH Clinical Center, Bethesda, Montgomery County, Maryland, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Matthew Dryden [send private message]

Biography

Hugh Dryden Sr. is Notable.

Hugh Latimer Dryden was born as the eldest children out of five to Samuel I. Dryden and Nova H. Culver Dryden, on Jul. 2, 1898. His father Samuel was a schoolteacher in Pocomoke City, who later opened a general store at a country crossroads called West Post Office; it became unprofitable during the panic of 1907 and he relocated his family to Baltimore. He found work as a streetcar conductor, a job he held until his death in 1926.

As a student, Dryden excelled in mathematics. He graduated from Baltimore City College, a high school, at the age of 14, and was the youngest student ever to graduate from that school; he was awarded the Peabody Prize for excellence in mathematics. With a scholarship, he was admitted to Johns Hopkins University and graduated with honors after only three years. He earned a M.S. in physics in 1916. His thesis was titled, "Airplanes: An Introduction to the Physical Principles Embodied in their Use."

In 1918, Dryden joined the National Bureau of Standards, becoming an inspector of gauges.

He was the youngest person to ever receive a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University at the age of 20; his degree was awarded in physics and mathematics. His thesis was on the "Air Forces on Circular Cylinders".

Soon after, he was appointed director of the newly-created Aerodynamics Division of the National Bureau of Standards. Collaborating with Dr. Lyman J. Briggs, he performed studies of airfoils near the speed of sound. He also performed pioneering aerodynamics research on the problems of airflow, turbulence, and the boundary layer phenomenon. His work contributed to the design of the wings for the P-51 Mustang, as well as various other aircraft designed during World War II.

By 1934, Dryden was appointed the bureau's Chief of the Mechanics and Sound Division, and in 1939 he became a member of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA).

With the start of World War II, Dryden served in an advisory capacity to the Air Force. He led the development of the "Bat", a radar-homing guided bomb program that was successfully employed in combat in April 1945 to sink a Japanese destroyer.

After the war, Dryden became the Director of Aeronautical Research for NACA in 1946. While at the NACA he supervised the development of the North American X-15, a rocket plane used for research and testing. He also established programs for V/STOL aircraft, and studied the problem of atmospheric reentry.

He held the position of Director of NACA, NASA's predecessor, from 1947 to 1958. In addition, he served on numerous government advisory committees, including the Scientific Advisory Committee to the President. From 1941 until 1956 he was editor of the Journal of the Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences.

With the dissolution of NACA in 1958 he became the first deputy director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), serving under T. Keith Glennan and James E. Webb; a post he held until his death from cancer on Dec. 2, 1965.

In 1976 the High-Speed Flight Station at Edwards AFB was renamed in dedication of Dr. Hugh L. Dryden, thus becoming the Dryden Flight Research Center. The facility was named as such until 2014, when it was renamed in dedication of Neil Armstrong, the first human being to walk on the surface of the moon.

He married Mary Libbie Travers on Jun. 29, 1920, in Baltimore; they had three daughters and a son.

He appears twice in the 1920 Census: once in the house of his parents, Samuel and Nova Dryden, and once more in the residence of his mother-in-law, Ida Travers.

Sources

• Dryden, Leslie Powell. Dryden Family and Descendants. San Diego, CA: Ruth T. Dryden, 1992. Book 1, pp 408-409.

• "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11603-9065-68?cc=1325221 : 5 August 2014), Maryland > Somerset > ED 74 Election District 4, Dublin > image 27 of 32; citing NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

• "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-23022-7797-42?cc=1727033 : 11 November 2015), Maryland > Baltimore (Independent City) > Baltimore Ward 8 > ED 105 > image 27 of 46; citing NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

• "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-23003-4824-4?cc=1488411 : 14 December 2015), Maryland > Baltimore (Independent City) > Baltimore Ward 9 > ED 131 > image 30 of 54; citing NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

• "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-22938-12253-31?cc=1488411 : 14 December 2015), Maryland > Baltimore (Independent City) > Baltimore Ward 8 > ED 107 > image 34 of 36; citing NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

• "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-22730-19458-67?cc=1810731 : 8 December 2015), District of Columbia > Washington > Washington > ED 307 > image 11 of 42; citing NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002).

• "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-27893-12114-41?cc=2000219 : 11 July 2014), District of Columbia > District of Columbia > Police Precinct 10, District of Columbia, Tract 27 > 1-390 Police Precinct 10 (Tract 27 - part), District of Columbia, House of Mercy, Presbyterian Home for the Aged > image 20 of 49; citing NARA digital publication T627 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012).

• Death certificate: https://archive.org/details/reclaim-the-records-maryland-death-certificates-msa-se-44-002073-5021/Reclaim_The_Records_-_Maryland_Death_Certificates_-_msa_se44_003999/page/n105/

• Find a Grave, database and images (: accessed 20 November 2022), memorial page for Dr Hugh Latimer Dryden (2 Jul 1898–2 Dec 1965), Find A Grave: Memorial #6447769, citing Woodlawn Cemetery, Woodlawn, Baltimore County, Maryland, USA; Maintained by Kris 'Peterborough K' Peterson (contributor 46537737) .