Tsiolkovsky, Konstantin Eduardovich

Considered one of the three great early pioneers of rocketry and space travel (with the American Robert Goddard and the German Hermann Oberth). Born at and lived in Kaluga, Russia; deafened by scarlet fever at age 10 or 12. Experimented with and wrote about rockets and space travel, winning renown and respect in the Soviet Union in the years before his death. A prominent crater on the Moon's far side is named in his honor. His surname is sometimes also transliterated from Russian as Tsiolkovski or Ziolkovsky.