Robert Henry Widmer (May 17, 1916 – June 20, 2011) was an Americanaeronautical engineer who specialized in designing aircraft for the military. He spent his career working forConvair which becameGeneral Dynamics, thenLockheed, and thenLockheed Martin. His feisty personality and at times insubordinate attitude at one time led company leaders to strongly consider firing him. However, his brilliance at envisioning and designing desirable aircraft years before there was even a market for them led to his appointment as Vice President for science and engineering for all of General Dynamics.^[1]

Born inHawthorne, New Jersey, Widmer earned degrees fromRensselaer Polytechnic Institute and theCalifornia Institute of Technology. He began his career working for the California division of Convair, initially as a designer of marine aircraft. He eventually joined the company's main branch inFort Worth, Texas, where he notably designed theConvair B-58 Hustler which was the firstUnited States Air Force's bomber capable of Mach 2. He went on to lead the design teams for theGeneral Dynamics F-111 Aardvark and theGeneral Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon. In 1983 he was awarded the Reed Aeronautics Award by theAmerican Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The award credited him with leading the design of four major Air Force aircraft, the B-36, B-58, F-111, and F-16, and for "pioneering the eras of supersonic cruise and fly-by-wire computerized flight control".^[2] In 1962, he was awarded the Spirit of St. Louis Medal by theAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers for his work on the B-58.^[3][4] In 2007, he was inducted into the Rensselaer Alumni Hall of Fame.^[5]

Widmer died in Fort Worth, Texas in 2011 at the age of 95.

• 1916 births
• 2011 deaths
• American aerospace engineers
• California Institute of Technology alumni
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni
• American people of Swiss descent

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