ASTRONAUT

William E. Thornton

1929 - 2021

Photo of William E. Thornton

Icon of person William E. Thornton

William Edgar Thornton (April 14, 1929 – January 11, 2021) was an American NASA astronaut. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from University of North Carolina and a doctorate in medicine, also from UNC. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of William E. Thornton has received more than 80,989 page views. His biography is available in 22 different languages on Wikipedia. William E. Thornton is the 286th most popular astronaut (down from 151st in 2019), the 10,872nd most popular biography from United States (down from 6,283rd in 2019) and the 121st most popular American Astronaut.

Memorability Metrics

  • 81k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 42.51

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 22

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 3.76

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.30

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among ASTRONAUTS

Among astronauts, William E. Thornton ranks 286 out of 556. Before him are Vasily Tsibliyev, Brewster H. Shaw, Tamara E. Jernigan, Richard O. Covey, Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, and Norman Thagard. After him are S. David Griggs, Ellen Ochoa, Steven Lindsey, Christopher Ferguson, Jeffrey Williams, and Umberto Guidoni.

Most Popular Astronauts in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1929, William E. Thornton ranks 497. Before him are Joseph Mascolo, Sofia Muratova, Bhanu Athaiya, Yelizaveta Bagryantseva, Irwin I. Shapiro, and Amanda Blake. After him are Ursula Knab, Henry Proctor, Ottó Boros, Dick Button, Branko Grünbaum, and Joe Meek. Among people deceased in 2021, William E. Thornton ranks 579. Before him are Lloyd Price, Roger Michell, Aleksandr Lenyov, Jean Kalala N'Tumba, Satya Vrat Shastri, and Valeriy Pidluzhnyy. After him are Slide Hampton, Theodore Katsanevas, Graham McRae, Ottorino Sartor, Ekkehard Fasser, and Guillermo Sepúlveda.

Others Born in 1929

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Others Deceased in 2021

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In United States

Among people born in United States, William E. Thornton ranks 10,872 out of 20,380. Before him are Janet Lynn (1953), Fanny Hesse (1850), Moon Bloodgood (1975), William Keighley (1889), Awkwafina (1988), and Jack Medica (1914). After him are Elyse Knox (1917), Sheila Echols (1964), Josiah Bartlett (1729), Andrew Young (1932), Wally Cox (1924), and Torrey DeVitto (1984).

Others born in United States

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Among ASTRONAUTS In United States

Among astronauts born in United States, William E. Thornton ranks 121. Before him are Margaret Rhea Seddon (1947), William B. Lenoir (1939), Brewster H. Shaw (1945), Tamara E. Jernigan (1959), Richard O. Covey (1946), and Norman Thagard (1943). After him are S. David Griggs (1939), Ellen Ochoa (1958), Steven Lindsey (1960), Christopher Ferguson (1961), Jeffrey Williams (1958), and William H. Dana (1930).

American born Astronauts

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