Ed White

American astronaut (1930-1967)

Fame59.4
Momentum14.4
United States rank#178

Source-basedRising

Fame59.4
Momentum14.4
United States rank#178
Business Professionals rank#249
Wikipedia19.6K

Lived 1930–1967, aged 37United States

United States Business ProfessionalsOther

Wikipedia
47 languages
Cross-language footprint
Rank in United States
#178
Business Professionals
Era
1930–1967
Aged 37
Known for
Mamma Mia!
2008

Summary

Updated 2026-06-10

He floated outside Gemini 4 on a tether in June 1965, the first American to walk in space — then burned to death eighteen months later in the Apollo 1 capsule fire that killed the launch pad dream before it ever left the ground.

Biography

About

Edward Higgins White II graduated from West Point in 1952, flew F-86 and F-100 fighters in West Germany, then earned a master's in aeronautical engineering from the University of Michigan in 1959 before becoming a test pilot at Wright-Patterson. Selected in NASA's second astronaut group, the "Next Nine," he was assigned as pilot of Gemini 4 alongside James McDivitt. On June 3, 1965, White became the first American to walk in space. He was then named senior pilot of Apollo 1, the first crewed Apollo mission. On January 27, 1967, White died alongside Virgil "Gus" Grissom and Roger B. Chaffee in…

Voice