PILOT

Joseph Kittinger

1928 - 2022

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Joseph William Kittinger II (July 27, 1928 – December 9, 2022) was an officer in the United States Air Force (USAF) who served from 1950 to 1978, and earned Command Pilot status before retiring with the rank of colonel. He held the world record for the highest skydive—102,800 feet (31.3 km)—from 1960 until 2012. Kittinger participated in the Project Manhigh and Project Excelsior high-altitude balloon flight projects from 1956 to 1960 and was the first man to fully witness the curvature of the Earth. A fighter pilot during the Vietnam War, Kittinger shot down a North Vietnamese MiG-21 jet fighter. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Joseph Kittinger is the 18th most popular pilot (down from 17th in 2019), the 3,100th most popular biography from United States (down from 2,270th in 2019) and the 6th most popular American Pilot.

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Among PILOTS

Among pilots, Joseph Kittinger ranks 18 out of 71. Before him are Ivan Kozhedub, Hermann Graf, Chuck Yeager, Marina Raskova, Valery Chkalov, and Mathias Rust. After him are Amy Johnson, René Fonck, Igor Volk, Sarla Thakral, Carl Gustaf von Rosen, and Vladimir Ilyushin.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1928, Joseph Kittinger ranks 169. Before him are Nodar Dumbadze, Yaacov Agam, Prince Tomislav of Yugoslavia, Fredrik Barth, Henri Debehogne, and Cannonball Adderley. After him are János Kornai, Wolfhart Pannenberg, Juris Hartmanis, Harold Prince, Humberto Maturana, and Nancy Marchand. Among people deceased in 2022, Joseph Kittinger ranks 141. Before him are Christos Sartzetakis, William Klein, Anne Heche, Uri Orlev, Jean-Jacques Beineix, and Kay Parker. After him are Juris Hartmanis, Luis Echeverría, Hermann Nitsch, Richard Leakey, Ronnie Hellström, and Josef Abrhám.

Others Born in 1928

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Joseph Kittinger ranks 3,100 out of 20,380. Before him are John Roberts (1955), William C. Durant (1861), Hiram Rhodes Revels (1827), Cannonball Adderley (1928), Thomas A. Hendricks (1819), and SZA (1990). After him are Toby Keith (1961), Tim Scott (1965), Melissa Leo (1960), Joan Didion (1934), Annie Potts (1952), and Frank Jack Fletcher (1885).

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Among PILOTS In United States

Among pilots born in United States, Joseph Kittinger ranks 6. Before him are Charles Lindbergh (1902), Amelia Earhart (1897), Chesley Sullenberger (1951), Francis Gary Powers (1929), and Chuck Yeager (1923). After him are Claire Lee Chennault (1890), Jacqueline Cochran (1906), Blanche Stuart Scott (1884), Bessie Coleman (1892), Wally Funk (1939), and Jerrie Cobb (1931).

American born Pilots

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