John Gillespie Magee Jr.

John Gillespie Magee Jr. was born in Shanghai, China to missionary parents. His father was American and his mother was British; Magee moved to England in the early 1930s to attend St. Clare’s and then Rugby School, where he won the Poetry Prize in 1938. Magee left England for the United States in 1939 to attend Yale University, though he never officially enrolled. Instead, Magee joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and was sent to England for training. Magee never saw combat and died during a mid-air collision with another pilot in training.
 
Magee’s poem, “High Flight” was inspired by a high altitude test flight. He sent a copy of the poem to his parents, who published it after his death. The poem was displayed in the Library of Congress, and posters with the poem, a portrait of Magee, and a sketch of the plane he flew were distributed to British airfields.