High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Dr. Robert Hutchings Goddard (October 5, 1882 ? August 10, 1945), U.S. professor of physics and scientist, was a pioneer of controlled, liquid-fueled rocketry. On March 16, 1926, he became the first person in the world to launch a liquid-fueled rocket, an engine type that had first been developed in 1895 by Peruvian scientist Pedro Paulet. From 1930 to 1935, Goddard launched rockets that attained speeds of up to 885 km/h (550 mph). Though his work in the field was revolutionary, he was sometimes ridiculed for his theories concerning space flight.