Birth, Education, and Family Life
O'Neill was born in Brooklyn, New York on February 6, 1927 to Edward Gerard O'Neill, a lawyer, and Dorothy Lewis O'Neill (née Kitchen). He had no siblings. His family moved to Speculator, New York when his father temporarily retired for health reasons. For high school, O'Neill attended Newburgh Free Academy in Newburgh, New York. While he was a student there he edited the school newspaper and took a job as a news broadcaster at a local radio station. He graduated in 1944, during World War II, and enlisted in the United States Navy on his 17th birthday. The Navy trained him as a radar technician, which sparked his interest in science.
After he was honorably discharged in 1946, O'Neill studied for an undergraduate degree in physics and mathematics at Swarthmore College. As a child he had discussed the possibilities of humans in space with his parents, and in college he enjoyed working on rocket equations. However, he did not see space science as an option for a career path in physics, choosing instead to pursue high-energy physics. In 1950 he graduated with Phi Beta Kappa honors. O'Neill performed his graduate studies at Cornell University with the help of an Atomic Energy Commission fellowship, and was awarded a Ph.D. in physics in 1954.
O'Neill married Sylvia Turlington, also a Swarthmore graduate, in June 1950. They had a son, Roger, and two daughters, Janet and Eleanor, before their marriage ended in divorce in 1966.
One of O'Neill's favorite activities was flying. He held instrument certifications in both powered and sailplane flight and held the FAI Diamond Badge, a gliding award. During his first cross-country glider flight in April 1973, he was assisted on the ground by Renate "Tasha" Steffen. He had met Tasha, who was 21 years younger than him, previously through the YMCA International Club. They were married the day after his flight. They had a son, Edward O'Neill.
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