Barys Kit
Barys Kit (Belarusian: Бары́с Кіт, Russian: Бори́с Кит; born April 6, 1910) is an American rocket scientist.
Biography
Kit was born on April 6, 1910 in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire to the family of an employee at the Post and Telegraph Department, a Belarusian in origin. In 1918 Kit’s family moved to their native village of Aharodniki in Poland (now merged with the town of Karelichy, Hrodna Voblast).
After graduation from Navahrudak Belarusian Lyceum in 1928 Kit entered the physics and mathematics faculty of Vilnius University (Poland). After graduation in 1933 he worked as a teacher at Vilnius Belarusian Lyceum. In 1939 he was appointed its Principal. After the Vilnius Region had been annexed to Lithuania in 1939, Kit returned to his native region. He was the Principal of Navahrudak Belarusian High School there and later a superintendent of a large school system district. Hundreds of elementary schools and several dozen high schools were opened in the region within a year due to Kit's direct participation.