Yao Tongbin was born on September 3, 1922 in Huangtutang Town, Wuxi County, Jiangsu Province, where his father ran a small grain store.
Yao Tongbin has been very smart since he was a child, and his IQ seems to be higher than that of ordinary people, so his father scraped together to get him tuition for him to go to primary school.
But by the time it was time to enter junior high school, Yao's family could no longer afford his tuition.
So he dropped out of school for two years, followed his father to do business, he set up a stall to sell daily necessities, saved enough tuition, and finally finished junior high school part-time, and his grades were among the best.
After that, Yao Tongbin was still unwilling to stop studying. In 1937, he came to Shanghai and entered the private Huinan High School to study high school.
Two years later, Yao Tongbin went to Ji'an, Jiangxi Province, and entered the high school of Ji'an National No. 13 Middle School.
In the college entrance examination, Yao Tongbin got the highest score in the province and was sent to Tangshan Institute of Technology of Jiaotong University.
At that time, Yao Tongbin had a great interest in mining and metallurgy. During his four years of college, Yao Tongbin still spared no effort to study hard. In 1945, Yao Tongbin graduated with the first grade in the school.
Along the way, Yao Tongbin has been a top student. Although he was poor and the conditions were difficult, he never slacked off in his studies. His achievements are obvious to all, and his talent and super high IQ have been fully revealed.
In August 1945, he served as an assistant researcher at the Institute of Mining and Metallurgy of the Ministry of Economic Affairs of the National Government. In 1946, Yao Tongbin obtained the qualification to study abroad at public expense.
In October 1947, he entered the Department of Industrial Metallurgy of the University of Birmingham as a graduate student, and obtained a doctorate degree in engineering from the University of Birmingham in 1951.
After receiving his PhD from the University of Birmingham, Yao Tongbin was recommended by his supervisor to study at Imperial College of Science and Technology in London. In 1954, he left England to work as a researcher at the Technical University of Achen, Germany.
In the field of metallurgical industry in Europe, Yao Tongbin has become a well-known figure. He is recognized as a rare metallurgical talent in a century, and if he had stayed abroad, he would have lived a decent and prosperous life.
But in Yao Tongbin's heart, he has always been concerned about the motherland, especially after the founding of New China, he misses his hometown more and more. In terms of academics, he has already achieved good results, and he is well aware that the development and construction of New China needs talents like him.
At that time, Yao Tongbin already had the world's top metallurgical knowledge, and such scientific research workers were almost absent in China.
Finally in September 1957, Yao Tongbin returned to his homeland and was determined to serve his motherland.
At that time, China's industrial base was very weak, and it coincided with a three-year period of serious difficulties, and the scientific research environment was not far behind that of developed Europe. However, Yao Tongbin has a firm goal, and he wants to contribute to the cause of the two bombs and one satellite in New China.
The world's top aerospace materials experts like Yao Tongbin are exactly what the motherland needs.
In 1958, Yao Tongbin was assigned to the First Branch of the Fifth Research Institute of the Ministry of National Defense, and he said excitedly: "I came back not for status and money, but to contribute the knowledge I learned to the construction of the motherland." Therefore, I am willing to do some concrete work at the grassroots level to contribute to the launch of mainland launch vehicles and satellites. ”
It was under the guidance of this promise that he began the creation of the continental missile and aerospace materials technology. From the selection and distribution of scientific and technological personnel, the determination of the development direction and development plan of the research institute, the setting up of research laboratories and laboratories, the construction and purchase of facilities and equipment, to the teaching of scientific research methods and the cultivation of scientific research style, he personally examined and inquired about them, and paid tremendous labor and painstaking efforts for them. Two years later, he became the director of the Institute of Aerospace Materials.
At that time, the scientific research environment was very simple, and in a small laboratory, Yao Tongbin could only use a microscope. Although he was poor and white, Yao Tongbin was not defeated by difficulties, and he led the fledgling college students to overcome difficulties all the way.
Yao Tongbin knows that material technology research is inseparable from the laboratory and testing, testing and analysis equipment, he personally formulated the development blueprint of the institute, and presided over the construction of a preliminary scale of metal materials and process research, non-metallic materials and process research, material performance testing, non-destructive testing, failure analysis facilities and equipment.
This material technology research institute has the characteristics and style of strong comprehensiveness, strong simulation test ability and strong practicability, and is a research institute with considerable strength in the leading position in the country and great influence in the world.
Yao Tongbin's achievements in the field of aerospace materials and rocket materials are obvious to all. He could have continued on this path of scientific research, but in the blink of an eye, the Cultural Revolution, during that period, the distortion of human nature was incomprehensible, and many people did some violent things under the banner of "revolution", which was inhumane.
Due to the needs of scientific research, Yao Tongbin purchased a batch of test equipment from abroad, which was a normal thing, and in that sensitive period at that time, Yao Tongbin became a thorn in the side of the "revolutionary masses", and big-character posters criticizing Yao Tongbin were soon plastered all over his place of work.
At that time, the 915 and 916 factions of the Seventh Machine Department fought fiercely and became famous throughout the country. 916 faction: 916 Revolutionary Rebel Corps of the Seventh Machinery Department, 915 faction: New 915 Revolutionary Rebel Headquarters.
On June 8, 1968, Yao Tongbin went to work as usual, although he was under pressure at that time, and the people around him showed strange eyes on him. But as a scientific researcher, he still focuses on his own research field, and he is not afraid of shadows.
However, the situation at that time was very chaotic, and even scientific research workers like Yao Tongbin, who were very important to the motherland, were caught in the political whirlpool.
At noon on June 8, there was a big fight between the 915 and 916 factions in Nanyuan, with tens of thousands of people.
The staff of the China Academy of Aerospace Materials, as usual, are immersed in their busy work. Suddenly, there was a commotion at the door, and a group of people armed with sticks rushed in despite the security guards.
Before the scientific researchers could react, the group of people suddenly beat up the scientific researchers without saying a word, and the instruments and materials on the table were also smashed by them, and the scene was very chaotic.
While the scientists were dodging the beating of this group of people, they also had to protect the precious experimental materials on the table, and at this moment, a middle-aged man was hit in the head by a mob and fell to the ground.
Yao Tongbin was beaten by the thugs, seriously injured, bleeding nonstop, after everyone sent him to the hospital, the doctor told everyone very sadly that it was too late, Yao Tongbin had lost his vital signs, this year Yao Tongbin was only 46 years old!
Everyone felt that the sky had fallen when they heard the news, you know, the technical direction that Yao Tongbin conquered has a very important relationship with the two bombs and one satellite, and now Yao Tongbin has died, which means that there is no one at the helm of this project, so in the future, who can pick up Yao Tongbin's burden?
This was tantamount to a major damage to the country's scientific cause, and the case was quickly reported, but disappointingly, the matter was finally closed, because at that time, people's attitudes towards intellectuals were already obscure, and scientists like Yao Tongbin, who had returned from studying abroad, were subjected to a lot of groundless speculation.
In that particular social context, the unjustified murder of this group of thugs was only to suppress intellectuals. What's more, they still have the mentality that the law does not hold the public accountable, and the innocent Yao Tongbin died in an unjustified atrocity, which made countless people angry.
It was later confirmed that it was the 915 faction that killed the man. The surname Gao is a cook, and the surname is an electrician. It wasn't until 1976 that Yao Tongbin's murderer was caught. In the end, the principal offender was sentenced to 15 years in prison and the accomplice was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
In 1983, Yao Tongbin was posthumously awarded the title of revolutionary martyr. On September 18, 1999, Yao Tongbin was posthumously awarded the Meritorious Service Medal with two bombs and one star. This heavy medal was received by Yao Tongbin's wife Peng Jie.
Peng Jie and Yao Tongbin have a deep relationship, and Yao Tongbin's unfortunate death brought her a heavy blow. Many years later, Peng Jie finally let go of her husband's death and donated Yao Tongbin's two bombs and one star medal to the National Museum.
In that turbulent era, Yao Tongbin's experience was really sad, his sacrifice was a great loss to the country, and his contribution to the field of aerospace industry materials technology was unparalleled.
Yao Tongbin's brilliant life is forever fixed at the age of forty-six, if Yao Tongbin had not been killed, the development speed of China's aerospace industry would definitely be faster than now, in that era, the world's top scientists like Yao Tongbin can be called a national treasure.
The life of Yao Tongbin, the founder of aerospace, is admirable, but his misfortune has made countless people regret. This painful history will never be forgotten by future generations.