American engineer and astronaut

Donald Pettit

Donald Roy Pettit is an American astronaut and chemical engineer best known for his orbital astrophotography and in-space inventions such as the Space Cup, which received the first ever patent for an object invented in space. He is a veteran of three long-duration missions aboard the International Space Station, one Space Shuttle mission, and a six-week expedition to find meteorites in Antarctica. As of 2026, at age 71, he is NASA's oldest active astronaut and the third oldest person to reach orbit, behind John Glenn and Larry Connor. He has accumulated 590 days in space.

Born

1955

April 20

Died

Living

Era

1950s

Country

—

About

Donald, in brief

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Life timeline

Key dates

1955 Born

Also on April 20

What else happened on this day, through history

1152 After an eight-year conflict, Baldwin III of Jerusalem wins sole control of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from his mother Melisende.
1303 The Sapienza University of Rome is instituted by a bull of Pope Boniface VIII.
1303 The Bahri Mamluks defeat the Ilkhanate in the battle of Marj al-Saffar, marking the end of the Mongol incursions into Syria.
1535 A complex halo display is observed over Stockholm, Sweden, inspiring the Vädersolstavlan ("The Sundog painting"), the earliest depiction of such an event, and the oldest colour depiction of the city.

See all of April 20 →

The world in 1955

When Donald arrived

april 1 The EOKA rebellion against the British Empire begins in Cyprus, with the goal of unifying with Greece.
april 11 The Air India Kashmir Princess is bombed and crashes in a failed assassination attempt on Zhou Enlai by the Kuomintang.
april 12 The polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, is declared safe and effective.
april 15 McDonald's restaurant dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois.

Read the year 1955 →

Same-day contemporaries

Also born on April 20

Adolf Hitler 1889–1945 Austrian-born German politician, Führer of Nazi Germany (died 1945) Alexander Lebed 1950–2002 Russian general and politician (died 2002) Andy Serkis 1964– English actor and director Joan Miró 1893–1983 Spanish painter and sculptor (died 1983) Mikey Welsh 1971–2011 American bassist and painter (died 2011) Napoleon III 1808–1873 French politician, 1st President of France, Emperor of French Second Empire (died 1873) Philippe Pinel 1745–1826 French physician and psychiatrist (died 1826) Yoko Matsuoka 1916– Japanese writer (died 1979)

See everything on April 20 →

Same-year contemporaries

Also born in 1955

Bill Gates 1955– American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Microsoft Steve Jobs 1955–2011 American businessman, co-founded Apple Computer and Pixar (died 2011) Alistair Burt 1955– English lawyer and politician Arif Yunusov 1955– Azerbaijani author, historian, and human rights activist. Balaji Sadasivan 1955–2010 Singaporean neurosurgeon and politician, Singaporean Minister of Health (died 2010) Bill Elliott 1955– American race car driver Dave Taylor 1955– Canadian-American ice hockey player and manager Debbie Mathers 1955–2024 Mother of Eminem (born 1955) Gerrie Coetzee 1955– South African boxer (died 2023)

Read about the year 1955 →

Keep going

More to explore

Donald's birthday April 20 Donald's zodiac Taurus When Donald arrived 1955