The physicist and long-time University of Chicago professor who theorized the existence of solar wind and became the first person to witness the launch of a spacecraft bearing his name has died.
Parker was born in 1927 in Houghton, Michigan. He studied physics at Michigan State University and California Institute of Technology, then worked as an assistant professor at the University of Utah before coming to the University of Chicago in 1955.
The elder Parker would occasionally rise from the dinner table to jot down an idea, his son said. But his children most remember Parker as an involved dad and an avid hiker, camper and craftsman who carved busts of famous figures from wood and made much of the family's furniture. Angela Olinto, dean of the physical sciences division at the University of Chicago, accompanied Parker to the launch. She recalled his seemingly boundless energy in the early morning hours preceding the launch and his childlike grin when everything went smoothly.