Steve Fossett
A relentless record-breaker who used his financial fortune to fund a one-man conquest of the earth's most daunting physical frontiers, from the skies to the seas.
1944–2007 (age 63)·American businessman, aviator, sailor, and adventurer·Birthday: April 22·The Silent Generation
Biography
Steve Fossett approached adventure with the methodical precision of the Chicago options trader he once was. After making his wealth, he turned his relentless focus to setting records, not for fame, but for the sheer, solitary challenge of it. He became a ghost in the machine, a man alone in a balloon or a plane for days on end, battling fatigue and the elements. In 2002, he finally captured the elusive prize of solo balloon circumnavigation after multiple failed attempts. He didn't stop there, setting records in sailboats, gliders, and airships, amassing over 100 official world records. His disappearance during a solo flight over the Nevada desert in 2007, and the subsequent discovery of the wreckage, ended a life defined by a quiet, uncompromising drive to test the limits of human endurance and technology.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Steve was born in 1944, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Steve Was Born
The biggest hits of 1944
#1 Movie
Going My Way
Best Picture
Going My Way
Steve's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1944Born
D-Day: Allied forces land at Normandy
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,400Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Swinging on a Star" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Going My Way
1949Started school
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1957Became a teenager
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1960Could drive
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1962Could vote
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1965Turned 21
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1974Turned 30
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1984Turned 40
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1994Turned 50
Nelson Mandela elected president of South Africa
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $90,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"The Sign" — Ace of BaseBest Picture: Forrest Gump
2004Turned 60
Indian Ocean tsunami kills over 230,000
Gas: $1.88/galHome: $157,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Yeah!" — UsherBest Picture: Million Dollar Baby
2007Died at 63
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
Key Achievements
- Completed the first solo nonstop circumnavigation of the globe in a balloon in 2002.
- Piloted the first solo nonstop fixed-wing aircraft circumnavigation of the world in 2005.
- Set the record for the longest nonstop flight in history (76 hours) in 2006.
- Held world records in sailing, including the transatlantic sailing record.
Did You Know?
He was the first person to fly a balloon solo around the world, but not the first overall; that was the Breitling Orbiter 3 crew in 1999.
Fossett swam the English Channel and completed the Iditarod dog sled race.
He once survived a dramatic balloon crash in the Coral Sea.
Many of his records were set in a custom-built aircraft called the *GlobalFlyer*.
“I'm just competitive. I want to break records.”
