Forrest M. Bird
Forrest Morton Bird (born June 9, 1921 in Stoughton , Massachusetts , † August 2, 2015 in Sagle , Idaho ) was an American pilot and inventor .
pilot
At the suggestion of his father, who was a pilot in World War I , and following a meeting with Orville Wright , Bird became a pilot at an early age . At the age of 14 he made his first solo flight and at the age of 16 he obtained several pilot licenses. He joined the United States Army Air Corps and was qualified as a Technical Air Training Officer in 1941 . That rank and the start of World War II gave him the opportunity to fly any aircraft, including jets and helicopters.
inventor
He developed the prototype of a ventilator that was initially tested on patients with limited success. Further revisions then led to the Bird Universal Medical Respirator in 1955 , as well as the Bird Mark 7 and Bird Mark 8 .
In 1958, he also developed the Babybird, an inexpensive ventilator that was soon mass-produced and with which infant mortality from diseases of the respiratory system could be significantly reduced. In 2007 he opened the Bird Aviation and Invention Museum in Sagle , Idaho, USA .
Awards
In 1985 Bird won the Lifetime Scientific Achievement Award and received another in September 2005. In 2008, he was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal .
Web links
- Portrait of Forrest Bird at 60 Minutes (English)
- Robert D. McFadden: Dr. Forrest Bird, Inventor of Medical Respirators and Ventilators, Dies at 94 . In: The New York Times (online edition), August 3, 2015.
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bird, Forrest M. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Bird, Forrest Morton (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American pilot and inventor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 9, 1921 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Stoughton , Massachusetts |
| DATE OF DEATH | 2nd August 2015 |
| Place of death | Sagle , Idaho |