Born October 2, 1935, in Chicago, Illinois, Major Robert H. Lawrence was a stellar student in bother high school and college. He graduated in the top 10% of his class at Englewood High School — at the age of 16. After high school he attended Bradley University, where he graduated with a degree in Chemistry.
He was a commissioned Second Lieutenant in the Air Force Reserves, where he became a pilot. A pilot in the Air Force he became an instructor for the T-33 trainer — training members of the German Air Force.
June 1967, Major Lawrence was selected to become an astronaut — he became the first African American astronaut. December 1967, a tragic training accident Major Lawrence was killed during a landing procedure.
On December 8, 2017, 50 years later, Major Lawrence’s death, he was honored at Kennedy Space Center.
