Dr. Forrest Bird, 94, died of natural causes August 2 at his Air Lodge compound in Sagle, Idaho. A noted aviator who began flying at age 14 and continued to fly into his 90s, Bird was also an inventor who held more than 50 aircraft STCs and more than 200 patents. While serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II as a technical training officer, Bird began his research into human respirators and invented the anti-g pressure suit regulator that assisted flight crew breathing up to 40,000 feet. After the war, Bird began attending various medical schools and inventing a series of respirators. His most famous was the “Babybird” pediatric respirator in 1970, credited with reducing the infant mortality rate due to respiratory problems from 70 percent to less than 10 percent and saving millions of lives.  

Bird was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1995 and received numerous awards during his career. They include the Lifetime Scientific Achievement Award in 1985 and 2005, the Presidential Citizens Medal from President George W. Bush in 2008 and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Barack Obama in 2009. He is the recipient of the 2012 Lindbergh Foundation annual award, presented to “an individual whose life’s work demonstrates a balance among technology, the environment and the quality of all life on earth.”

Bird is survived by his wife, Pamela, a daughter and two grandchildren. A public memorial service will be held August 8 at the Bird Aviation Museum & Invention Center in Sagle.