Dr. Forrest Bird received the 2012 Lindbergh Foundation annual award March 29. The award is presented to “an individual whose life’s work demonstrates a balance among technology, the environment and the quality of all life on earth.” Bird, who at age 91 remains an active pilot, invented the medical respirator in 1955 and went on to create more than 40 breathing-related medical devices. In 1970 he created the Babybird pediatric medical respirator, a device credited with reducing infant mortality for children with respiratory problems from 70 percent to 10 percent.
Bird soloed at 14 and earned his A&P certificate before enrolling in Boston’s Northeastern University. There, Bird earned undergraduate and master’s degrees in aeronautical engineering. During World War II, he joined the Army Air Corps and wrote all the technical orders on new airplanes and ferried aircraft worldwide. He also worked on breathing devices for bomber crews. After the war, the Army sent him to medical school. During a military career that spanned 40 years of active and reserve duty, Bird flew everything from T-6s to F-4 Phantoms.
