BIESEL@RUTGERS (12/17/82)
I've recently read a book on the US astronaut program which listed the names, and dates of appointment, for all astronauts, up through the first shuttle personnell. Among the Mercury 7, four were either Jr.'s or Joe Blow II or III. This preponderance of male children named after their father continued throughout the Gemini and Apollo programs, albeit with reduced incidence. A random, and very unscientific sample of names from the phonebook showed that the incidence of Jr.'s among the astronaut corps up until the the Shuttle crews was many times the incidence among the average population. I can imagine several psychological theories, based upon achievement orientation, desire to outdo the old man/make a name for oneself, but none would seem to account for the really striking incidence of Jr.'s. Any guesses? Pete. -------
eds (01/03/83)
About the preponerance of "Jr.'s" in the astronaut ranks... My high school chemistry teacher was a personal friend of one of the leading candidates for the first group of astronauts. This guy's qualifications were super, but he was rejected. NASA told him that the only reason was that he was the middle child in his family. It seems that at first, NASA only accepted first-born sons as astronauts! Ed Schulz, American Bell, Holmdel, NJ.