Early Life
Born in Phoebus, Virginia, in 1924, Kraft was named after his father, Christopher Columbus Kraft, who was born in New York City in 1892 near the newly renamed Columbus Circle. Kraft's father, the son of Bavarian immigrants, had found his name an embarrassment, but passed it along to his son nonetheless. In later years, Kraft—as well as other commentators—would consider it peculiarly appropriate. Kraft commented in his autobiography that, with the choice of his name, "some of my life's direction was settled from the start."
As a boy, Kraft played in an American Legion drum-and-bugle corps and became the state champion bugler. He was also a keen baseball player and continued to play baseball in college; one year he had a batting average of .340.
In 1942, Kraft began his studies at Virginia Tech and became a member of the Corps of Cadets. During his freshman year, he attempted to enlist in the military as a Navy cadet but was rejected because of a burned right hand that he had suffered at age three. Because of wartime demands, Virginia Tech was operating on a twelve-month schedule, and Kraft finished his degree in only two years. He graduated in December 1944 with a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical engineering.
Read more about this topic: Christopher C. Kraft, Jr.
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