Dr. Robert H. Kent

Doctor Robert H. Kent was born on July 1, 1886 and graduated from Harvard in 1910. In 1953, Harvard conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Science.

During 1917, Dr. Kent was a first lieutenant serving with the Office of the Chief of Ordnance in charge of ballistics work. In 1919, he continued with the Chief of Ordnance as a civilian employee.

From 1922 until his retirement on July 31, 1956, he worked at Aberdeen Proving Ground at the Ballistics Research Laboratories. Doctor Kent was one of the world's outstanding ballisticians and wrote approximately 200 publications on the subject. He developed the Kent battery, a device to demonstrate how projectiles fly with different rates of spin. Dr. Kent was an early proponent of the small caliber, high-velocity rifle bullet.

He was a pioneer in the science of ballistics measurements and subsequently achieved fame in developing the theory governing the flight of rockets and guided missiles. His efforts and his leadership of other scientists made possible the swift development of a number of new weapons and great improvements in other weapons of importance to the Armed Forces. Dr. Kent died in February 1971.