Montgomery later designed gliders in 1903-1905 that were used for the first high-altitude flights by man in public exhibitions at Santa Clara, California and other locations.
Seven X-15 pilots and Paul F. Bikle, the then Director of NASA Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, were awarded the first John J. Montgomery Award for aerospace achievement.
The pilots were: Scott Crossfield, Maj. Robert M. White, Neil A. Armstrong, John B. McKay, Joseph A. Walker, Cdr.
26 people associated with Project Mercury including astronauts M. Scott Carpenter, L. Gordon Cooper, Jr., John H. Glenn, Jr., Virgil I. Grissom, Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Donald K. Slayton, and Walter M. Schirra, Jr.; Dr. Robert R. Gilruth, MSC Director; Dr. Walter C. Williams, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator; Kenneth S. Kleinknecht, Project Mercury Manager; Christopher C. Kraft, Jr., Project Mercury Flight Operations Director; Maxime A. Faget, Assistant Director of Engineering and Development; Dr. Charles A. Berry, Medical Operations Chief; Lt. Col. John A.
Awardees included Charles Stark Draper, Derald Stuart, and Dr. George F. Mechlin.