Famous MIT alumni

James Doolittle In 1922, James Harold Doolittle was the first to fly across the United States in a single day. In 1929, he flew with his head wrapped in a hood that kept him from seeing out the windows, becoming the first to fly “blind,” relying only on the cockpit instruments. And in 1942, less than five months after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Doolittle led the first mission to hit the Japanese on their own soil. The bombs reassured Americans that the Japanese would be beaten, and Doolittle won the Medal of Honor. And it all started with a master’s and a doctorate in aeronautics from MIT.
New York Times file photo

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James Doolittle

In 1922, James Harold Doolittle was the first to fly across the United States in a single day. In 1929, he flew with his head wrapped in a hood that kept him from seeing out the windows, becoming the first to fly “blind,” relying only on the cockpit instruments. And in 1942, less than five months after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Doolittle led the first mission to hit the Japanese on their own soil. The bombs reassured Americans that the Japanese would be beaten, and Doolittle won the Medal of Honor. And it all started with a master’s and a doctorate in aeronautics from MIT.