ASTRONAUT

William E. Thornton

1929 - 2021

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William Edgar Thornton (April 14, 1929 – January 11, 2021) was an American NASA astronaut. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from University of North Carolina and a doctorate in medicine, also from UNC. He flew on Challenger twice, the STS-8 and STS-51-B missions. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. William E. Thornton is the 260th most popular astronaut (up from 286th in 2019), the 9,438th most popular biography from United States (up from 10,876th in 2019) and the 120th most popular American Astronaut.

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Among ASTRONAUTS

Among astronauts, William E. Thornton ranks 260 out of 556. Before him are Marsha Ivins, Jean-Pierre Haigneré, Robert A. Parker, Charles Bassett, Aleksandr Nikolayevich Balandin, and John L. Phillips. After him are Jeanette J. Epps, Ernst Messerschmid, Rodolfo Neri Vela, Joe F. Edwards Jr., Vladimir Vasyutin, and Jerry L. Ross.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1929, William E. Thornton ranks 464. Before him are Givi Kartozia, Marianna Nagy, Ilene Woods, Sofia Muratova, Edith M. Flanigen, and Mikhail Krivonosov. After him are Ignacio Velasco, Richard Dysart, George Moscone, Yozhef Betsa, Bob Brookmeyer, and Ursula Knab. Among people deceased in 2021, William E. Thornton ranks 527. Before him are John Richardson, Romano Fogli, Peter Mark Richman, Roy A. Tucker, Paola Pigni, and Hryhorii Chapkis. After him are Jiří Feureisl, Antal Kiss, Guillermo Sepúlveda, Jack Angel, Theodore Katsanevas, and Naohiro Ikeda.

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In United States

Among people born in United States, William E. Thornton ranks 9,440 out of 20,380. Before him are Margaret Truman (1924), Buddy Adler (1906), Wally Pfister (1961), Hanya Yanagihara (1974), John Russell (1921), and Elaine Stritch (1925). After him are Burton Downing (1885), Booker T (1965), Edwin Starr (1942), John Buscema (1927), Herb Ellis (1921), and John Cody (1907).

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Among ASTRONAUTS In United States

Among astronauts born in United States, William E. Thornton ranks 120. Before him are Clayton Anderson (1959), Joseph P. Allen (1937), Marsha Ivins (1951), Robert A. Parker (1936), Charles Bassett (1931), and John L. Phillips (1951). After him are Jeanette J. Epps (1970), Joe F. Edwards Jr. (1958), Jerry L. Ross (1948), Eileen Collins (1956), John Herrington (1958), and Gregory R. Wiseman (1975).

American born Astronauts

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