PILOT

Francis Gary Powers

1929 - 1977

Photo of Francis Gary Powers

Icon of person Francis Gary Powers

Francis Gary Powers (August 17, 1929 – August 1, 1977) was an American pilot whose Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Lockheed U-2 spy plane was shot down while flying a reconnaissance mission in Soviet Union airspace, causing the 1960 U-2 incident. He later worked as a helicopter pilot for KNBC in Los Angeles and died in a 1977 helicopter crash. Powers was born August 17, 1929, in Jenkins, Kentucky, the son of Oliver Winfield Powers (1904–1970), a coal miner, and his wife Ida Melinda Powers (née Ford; 1905–1991). Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Francis Gary Powers has received more than 6,028,693 page views. His biography is available in 40 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 38 in 2019). Francis Gary Powers is the 10th most popular pilot (down from 9th in 2019), the 1,274th most popular biography from United States (down from 619th in 2019) and the 3rd most popular American Pilot.

Francis Gary Powers was a U.S. pilot who was captured by the Soviet Union after his U-2 spy plane was shot down in 1960.

Memorability Metrics

  • 6.0M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 61.07

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 40

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 4.44

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.06

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among PILOTS

Among pilots, Francis Gary Powers ranks 10 out of 71. Before him are Sabiha Gökçen, Hanna Reitsch, Adolf Galland, Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen, Ernst Udet, and Sir Arthur Harris, 1st Baronet. After him are Ivan Kozhedub, Hermann Graf, Chesley Sullenberger, Chuck Yeager, Hezârfen Ahmed Çelebi, and Marina Raskova.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1929, Francis Gary Powers ranks 86. Before him are Hebe Camargo, Yozo Aoki, E. O. Wilson, Gerald Edelman, Chadli Bendjedid, and Omar Torrijos. After him are Gaston Glock, Nikolai Ryzhkov, Claes Oldenburg, Alfred Moisiu, Isabel Sarli, and Hans Magnus Enzensberger. Among people deceased in 1977, Francis Gary Powers ranks 38. Before him are Sergey Ilyushin, James Jones, Abdel Halim Hafez, Ali Shariati, Clementine Churchill, and Steve Biko. After him are Gangubai Kothewali, Alia Al-Hussein, Olave Baden-Powell, Oskar Morgenstern, Naum Gabo, and Modibo Keïta.

Others Born in 1929

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Others Deceased in 1977

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Francis Gary Powers ranks 1,274 out of 20,380. Before him are Dennis Rader (1945), David Morse (1953), Calamity Jane (1852), Dorothy Malone (1924), Jack Elam (1920), and George Akerlof (1940). After him are Thelonious Monk (1917), Paul Ryan (1970), Christina Onassis (1950), Carla Bley (1936), Alan Silvestri (1950), and Robin Cook (1940).

Others born in United States

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Among PILOTS In United States

Among pilots born in United States, Francis Gary Powers ranks 3. Before him are Charles Lindbergh (1902), and Amelia Earhart (1897). After him are Chesley Sullenberger (1951), Chuck Yeager (1923), Joseph Kittinger (1928), Claire Lee Chennault (1890), Bessie Coleman (1892), Jacqueline Cochran (1906), Jerrie Cobb (1931), Wally Funk (1939), and Cornelia Fort (1919).

American born Pilots

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