William Pickering.
Unknown by a huge number of Kiwis, William was head of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for a staggering 22 years, during which time, NASA put men into space and conducted fly-bys of Mars and Venus.
He was recognised as a leader and an impetus behind the dominance of JPL in space flight.
One of the few non-politicians to appear on the cover of Time magazine twice, he is certainly the only Kiwi to do so.
Hailed as a visionary in USA, we need to give this man of immense drive the epitaph he deserves in his birth country.
Good information on him is held at these sites:
The Royal Society of New Zealand
The Unitarians honour one of their own
Helen Clark's obituary
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