Albion Interactive History / People
Colonel Joseph Duckworth, 1902
Died 1964
Colonel Joseph Duckworth (1902-1964) was the first person to purposely fly through the eye of a hurricane (July 27, 1943). Colonel Duckworth was an experienced U.S. Air Force pilot, and is considered the “father” of modern-day instrument flying. His training manuals were used by the Air Force for many years and were a major contribution to World War II, and the 1948 Berlin airlift. He was in command of Hickman Air Force Base in Hawaii when he retired in 1955. Duckworth spent his retirement years in Albion where hsi wife Mildred (1899-1976) taught elementary school. He is buried in Riverside Cemetery.
Source: Frank Passic. Albion in the 20th Century. Chicago, IL: Arcadia Publishing. 2002.