Lewis B. Sanborn (born: July 10, 1930 Cleveland, Ohio) is an early developer of the freefall method of skydiving who along with Jacques-André Istel helped popularize sport parachuting in the United States.
Lewis “Lew” Sanborn, D-1 and Jacques André Istel, D-2, established sport skydiving in the United States in the 1950s.
[3] Sanborn started jumping with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and later became a member of the U.S. Parachute Team, master rigger, private and commercial pilot, instructor, national judge and world-record holder.
[3] In 1960, he was even nominated for an Academy Award for filming the skydiving documentary “A Sport is Born.”[3] In 1972, USPA honored him with its Lifetime Achievement Award “for originating safe and reliable parachuting equipment and pioneering work in freefall photography.”[3] In 2000, Istel inducted him into the Hall of Fame of Parachuting in Felicity, California.
[3] In 2001, the Golden Knights made him an honorary member, and in 2010, the International Skydiving Museum inducted him into its Hall of Fame.