James E. Webb | |
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![]() Official NASA photo, 1966 | |
2nd Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration | |
In office February 14, 1961 – October 7, 1968 | |
President | |
Deputy | |
Preceded by | T. Keith Glennan |
Succeeded by | Thomas O. Paine |
16th United States Under Secretary of State | |
In office January 28, 1949 – February 29, 1952 | |
President | Harry S. Truman |
Preceded by | Robert A. Lovett |
Succeeded by | David Bruce |
7th Director of the Bureau of the Budget | |
In office July 13, 1946 – January 27, 1949 | |
President | Harry S. Truman |
Preceded by | Harold D. Smith |
Succeeded by | Frank Pace |
Personal details | |
Born | James Edwin Webb October 7, 1906 Tally Ho, North Carolina, U.S. (now Stem) |
Died | March 27, 1992 Washington, D.C., U.S. | (aged 85)
Resting place | Arlington National Cemetery |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse |
Patsy Aiken Douglas (m. 1938) |
Children | 2 |
Education | |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Marine Corps |
Years of service |
|
Rank | Lieutenant colonel[1] |
James Edwin Webb (October 7, 1906 – March 27, 1992) was an American government official who served as Undersecretary of State from 1949 to 1952. He was the second Administrator of NASA from February 14, 1961, to October 7, 1968. Webb led NASA from the beginning of the Kennedy administration through the end of the Johnson administration, thus overseeing each of the critical first crewed missions throughout the Mercury and Gemini programs until days before the launch of the first Apollo mission. He also dealt with the Apollo 1 fire.
In 2002, the Next Generation Space Telescope was renamed the James Webb Space Telescope as a tribute to Webb.