James S. McDonnell Hall

James S. McDonnell Hall was dedicated in 1993 and named for James S. McDonnell.

McDonnell Hall provides space for research, laboratories and offices as well as a 150-seat auditorium, a 75-seat classroom and an 85-seat classroom.


James S. McDonnell

James McDonnell graduated from Princeton with a physics degree and earned a Master’s in Aeronautical Engineering from M.I.T. He served as a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps Reserve and was one of six men to make the first packed-parachute jumps.

He oversaw the development of the Martin B-10 and B-12 bombers, and started his own company in St. Louis in 1939, McDonnell Aircraft, with $35,000 of his own and $135,000 in loans. His company got its start when it produced 7 million pounds of airframe during World War II.

McDonnell merged with Douglas Aircraft Corporation, and remained a world leader in the production of commercial and military aircraft until its merger with Boeing. McDonnell established a professorship at Washington University in St. Louis in 1964, and the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences in 1975.