Coiner of Term “Aerospace” Dies at 92

Francis William Jennings, long-time USAF civilian information officer, who many believe was the inspiration for the term “aerospace,” died Aug. 16, 2009, at age 92. Born in 1917 in Montana, Jennings served first in the Army as an active duty information officer and then as a civilian with the Army, DOD, and lastly, starting in 1954, the Air Force, for which he helped establish the service’s internal information program. He transferred his Reserve commission to the Air Force, retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1972. He retired from the USAF civilian workforce in 1985 and continued to write, penning “Genesis of the Aerospace Concept,” for Air Power History in 2001. (Read more in this obituary published in the San Antonio Express-News)