orig. Charles Elwood Yeager
born Feb. 13, 1923, Myra, W.Va., U.S.
U.S. test pilot.
He served as a fighter pilot in World War II and became a flight instructor and test pilot after the war. Chosen to test-fly the secret experimental X-1 aircraft, on Oct. 14, 1947, he became the first person to break the sound barrier in flight, with a speed of 670 mph (1,079 km/hr). A brash and colourful personality, he retired with the rank of brigadier general in 1975 and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985.