American World War II pilot, experimental physicist, NASA test pilot, and astronaut, Joseph A. Walker ’42 was the first person to fly an airplane to space. He was also the first person to enter space twice!
Born in Washington, Pennsylvania, Walker graduated from Trinity High School in 1938. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in physics from Washington and Jefferson College in 1942, before entering the United States Army Air Forces. He was married and had four children.