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Louis Purnell

1920–2001

United States

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Biography

Louis Rayfield Purnell Sr. (April 5, 1920 – August 10, 2001) was a noted curator at the United States' National Air and Space Museum and earlier in life, a decorated Tuskegee Airman. At the museum, he became expert in space flight artifacts, particularly spacesuits, and was instrumental in curating artifacts related to space exploration, during the pivotal years of the 1960s and into the 1980s.

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Biography text · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

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