Oswald S. Williams Jr.

Oswald S. Williams Jr. (1921–2005) was an American aeronautical engineer, businessman, and academic. Williams worked on a number of notable engineering projects, and eventually became the vice president of Grumman International. According to some sources, Williams was the second African-American to earn a degree in aeronautical engineering. Williams developed an interest in aviation from a young age, and was noted to have enjoyed making model airplanes. He attended Boys High School in Brooklyn, and would go on to enroll in New York University's School on Engineering in 1938. Williams graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1943, as the second African-American to earn a degree in aeronautical engineering. He went on to graduate with a master’s degree in the same subject in 1947. He earned a master's degree in aeronautical engineering from NYU that same year. Williams would go on to conduct business for Grumman abroad, and would later rise to be vice president of marketing at Grumman International. His name is present on the National Air and Space Museum's wall of honor.

Personal life Williams married Doris Louise Reid in 1942. The couple had three children.

Williams was a member of the American Rocket Society and the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce. He was awarded with an associate fellowship from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics for his work in the 1950s.

He was a lifetime supporter of the NAACP.