and Manufacturing Company was a conglomerate, comprising many companies that manufactured items ranging from water meters to ball bearings. The company became a major player in the space race of the 1960s. In 1967 Rockwell-Standard merged with North American Aviation, becoming North American-Rockwell, and Rockwell stepped down as chairman. It was renamed Rockwell International in 1973 and became the prime contractor on the Space Shuttle. Sales reached $6.3 billion in 1979, ranking it number 11 in defense contracts, in addition to its major presence in commercial aircraft, electronics, automotive components. Numerous major corporations brought Rockwell onto their boards, including banks, insurance companies, and railroads. Family Rockwell came from a Yankee family and married Clara Thayer, a descendant of John Alden who arrived aboard the Mayflower in 1620. The couple had five children, Kay, Janet, Willard Jr., Eleanor, and Betty. He was a Baptist and Republican. He brought his son Willard Frederick "Al" Rockwell, Jr. (1914-1992) into the network of family businesses in 1947. Rockwell Jr. became a senior executive for several of them before taking over in the mid-1960s, leading work on the NASA Apollo and Space Shuttle programs until his 1989 retirement. Willard Sr. also brought his brother Walter F. Rockwell (1899-1973) into the family business, making him president of Timken-Detroit Axle 1933 to 1953, as well as other roles. References Further reading Ingham, John N. Biographical dictionary of American business leaders (Greenwood Publishing Group, 1983) 3:1196-99. Primary sources Rockwell, Willard Frederick. The Twelve Hats of a Company President: What it Takes to Run a Company (Prentice-Hall, 1971). External links Willard Rockwell at NNDB Automotive Hall of Fame biography History of Rockwell Automation 1888 births 1978 deaths American chief executives American industrialists Businesspeople from Boston Businesspeople from Pittsburgh Burials at Homewood Cemetery Engineers from Pennsylvania Henry Laurence Gantt Medal recipients Pennsylvania Republicans 20th-century American businesspeople