William Sterling Parsons

William Sterling Parsons was an American naval officer who worked as an ordnance expert on the Manhattan Project during World War II. He is best known for being the weaponeer on the Enola Gay, the aircraft which dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945. To avoid the possibility of a nuclear explosion if the aircraft crashed and burned on takeoff, he decided to arm the bomb in flight. While the aircraft was en route to Hiroshima, Parsons climbed into the cramped and dark bomb bay, and inserted the powder charge and detonator. He was awarded the Silver Star for his part in the mission.

26 November 1901

Born on the same birth day (26 November): Alice Herz-Sommer • Artemas Ward • Boris Yegorov • Ellen G. White • Harold Reynolds • John Harvard (clergyman) • Jun Fukuyama • Kara Walker • Samuel Reshevsky • Sarah Moore Grimké

Born in the same month (November 1901): Arthur Liebehenschel • Bennie Osler • Craig Wood (golfer) • Etta Moten Barnett • F. Van Wyck Mason • George Gallup • James Dunn (actor) • James Luther Adams • Joaquín Rodrigo • Lee Strasberg • Nina Bari • Norah McGuinness • Sam Spiegel • Ted Husing • V. Shantaram • Walter Hallstein