Dr. Hugh L. Dryden was an internationally known aeronautical scientist who became a member of NACA in 1931 while working for the Bureau of Standards. In 1946, he was appointed NACA's Director of Aeronautical Research, NACA's highest fulltime official then. He was responsible for making Dryden a permanent facility in 1947. Dryden was named to the newly created post of NACA director in 1949. When NACA became a new agency under the name of NASA in 1958, Dryden remained as deputy administrator until he died Dec. 2, 1965. The facility was named the Dryden Flight Research Center on Mar. 26, 1975.
Modified: February 2, 1994