Jacqueline Cochran, On May 18, 1943 Cochran set a new 100 km. Speed record at 1,050.15 km/hr. During her time flying in California, she exceeded 1270 km/hr and became the first woman to break the sound barrier. Zefram Cochrane Is there any back story, or is it just a coincidence?
My initial guess was coincidence...but then I thought of something similar: I was reading once about earlier years of Hollywood, and ran across an intriguing bit about how Paramount once had some serial films they'd shot. The series I remember specifically were the Mazie (sp.), Annabelle and Trudy series. Those names dingle any bells?
During TNG, there was mention of a planet named "Archer." When TPTB were creatling the ENT series, did they take that planet into consideration went they named their lead character "Archer?" .
Roddenberry and Matt Jefferies were both pilots during WWII, so anything's possible. Gene L. Coon, who wrote the episode, was a Marine. The name could have brainstormed between them.
Captain Archer's computer file in IAMD does claim that planet is named after him. Yeah, I know, that doesn't answer your question.
Archer is such a glory hog that he probably changed the Fedwiki article himself claiming that it was named for him. It could've been named for a cartographer who first charted the system, or the survey team leader who first studied the planet, or maybe an extinct indigenous people known as the Ahr'sher which changed over time to simply become 'Archer'.
I assume it's only a typo, but the correct year is 1953. (Chuck Yeager was the first pilot to break the sound barrier in 1947.)
Talk about a life well lived. Jackie Cochran crammed several life-times worth into one. And who are young women offered as a role model nowadays -- Miley Cyrus? Give us a break.
A coincidence probably; but do I sense the good Mr. Cox warming up a connection for one of his fine TOS novels?
Indeed. There are positive role models for young women today, just as there were negative ones for them in 1953 too.
The Cochran(e) surname might be a fictional familial association, or merely an allusion by the writer. When Christy Marx wrote the JEM television series (based on Hasbro's line of toys), she named the fictional Emmett Benton as an allusion to Dr. Stephen Benton, who developed rainbow holograms. (Emmett Benton created the holographic computer, Synergy.) No in-universe association is implied.