Eric Burgess

Background

Burgess, Eric was born on May 30, 1920 in Stockport, Cheshire, England. Arrived in United States, 1956, naturalized, 1962. Son of William and Lily Burgess.

Education

Bachelor, College Commerce, Manchester, England, 1940. Bachelor of Science, College of Technology, Manchester, 1950.

Career

He was the science correspondent of the Christian Science Monitor in the period of many of the planetary probe launches, and was often the senior science reporter present at many of those events. He is credited with the original idea that the Pioneer probes should carry a message for extraterrestrial intelligences. He approached Carl Sagan about his idea, which eventually resulted in the Pioneer plaque.

While Clarke claimed he invented the idea of using three satellites in geostationary orbit to create the global communication relay in common use today (see: front inside cover of The Exploration of Space, Air Corps Clarke, Harper Bros, 1951), Burgess claimed to have given the idea to Clarke in the late 1940"son

Shortly before his death Burgess had a large collection of film and printed media on the subject of rocketry and space exploration that may have been donated by his heirs to a local library. Perhaps his greatest contribution other than the claim of having the idea for geosynchronous satellite communication networks (disputed with characteristic droll humor by Clarke) was his chronicling of the initial exploration of the solar system (see: bibliography).

Achievements

• Eric Burgess has been listed as a notable high technology company executive, writer by Marquis Who's Who.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Pioneer Venus: A Planet Unveiled

    (This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)

  • Pioneer Venus. NASA SP-461.
  • Assault on the moon
  • Long-range ballistic missiles
  • Long-range Ballistic Missiles by E Burgess

Membership

Fellow: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, British Interplanetary Society, Royal Astronomical Society. Member: National Association Science Writers.

Connections

Married Lilian Slater Burgess, August 9, 1947. Children: Janis Marie, Howard John;1 child Stephen Roy.

Father:

William Burgess

Mother:

Lily Burgess

Spouse:

Lilian Slater Burgess

child:

Janis Marie Burgess

child:

Howard John;1 child Stephen Roy Burgess

child:

Stephen Roy Burgess