April 27, 2006
Goddard Monument Dedication May 12
Worcester,
Mass. - A monument to the achievements of rocket pioneer and Worcester native
Robert H. Goddard will be dedicated on Friday, May 12, at 2 p.m., at the corner
of Goddard Memorial Drive and Apricot Street. The monument was developed by
the Goddard Memorial Association (GMA) and designed by local artist Joseph Miglionico.
Clark President John Bassett and Worcester Polytechnic Institute President Dennis
Berkey will unveil the monument. The dedication ceremony is open to the public.
The Dr. Robert H. Goddard Collection and the Robert Goddard Exhibition Room are housed in the Archives and Special Collections area of Clark's Robert H. Goddard Library.
Dr. Goddard graduated from South High School in Worcester in 1904 and earned his undergraduate degree from WPI in 1908. He received his Ph.D. at Clark in 1911, going on to head the physics department.
On March 16, 1926, Goddard launched the world's first successful liquid-fueled rocket on a farm in nearby Auburn, an event considered as significant in the history of the Space Age as Wilbur and Orville Wright's first powered flight at Kitty Hawk was to the history of aviation.
The monument features eight panels, made from porcelainized enamel on steel, on which are recorded highlights of Goddard's career. The panels surround a 10-foot-tall stylized stainless steel rocket and tower.
At the entrance to the memorial site are two informational kiosks that were donated by WPI and Clark University. The monument, which forms the centerpiece of the landscaped site, fulfills the GMA's mission to "bring honor and recognition to Worcester native and rocket pioneer Robert H. Goddard, and to recognize Worcester as the 'Birthplace of the Space Age.'"
For further information, contact the GMA at 508-799-0091.