Richard Branson: What You Need To Know About The Virgin Group Founder

Branson opens new era of tourist space travel 4:05

(CNN) -

Here's a look at the life of Virgin Group, Ltd. founder Richard Branson.

• Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson successfully launched into outer space

Personal information

Date of birth:

July 18, 1950

Place of birth:

Surrey, England

Birth name:

Richard Charles Nicholas Branson

Father:

Edward Branson, attorney

Mother:

Eve (Huntley-Flindt) Branson, flight attendant

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Marriages:

Joan (Templeman) Branson (1989-present);

Kristen (Tomassi) Branson (1972-1976, divorced)

Children:

with Joan Branson: Clare Sarah, born and died in 1979;

Holly and sam

Other data

He had problems in school due to dyslexia.

He signed notable artists such as the Sex Pistols, Culture Club, Rolling Stones, and Genesis with the Virgin Records label.

Some of his possessions over time have included at least three islands, a superyacht, and a submarine.

The Virgin Group brand has spawned more than 400 companies around the world, in leisure, travel, tourism, mobile, broadband, media, finance, conservation and health.

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The space plane carrying Richard Branson takes off from Spaceport America, near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, on Sunday, July 11.

(Credit: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images)

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Branson carries Sirisha Bandla, a member of the crew, on his shoulders as they celebrate their return to Earth.

Bandla is the second Indian-born woman to fly into space.

(Credit: Andres Leighton / AP)

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Astronaut Chris Hadfield holds the wings before attaching them to the flight suits of the crew members.

(Credit: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP / Getty Images)

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Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity space plane separates from its mothership and heads into space.

(Credit: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP / Getty Images)

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Branson and the other crew members experience weightlessness at the edge of space.

(Credit: Virgin Galactic)

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Spectators watch the space plane separate from its mothership.

(Credit: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP / Getty Images)

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VSS Unity takes off aboard its mothership, the twin-body transport plane nicknamed VMS Eve.

(Credit: Andres Leighton / AP)

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Spectators snap photos and cheer as the Virgin Galactic space plane takes off.

(Credit: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP / Getty Images)

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Virgin Galactic Chief Astronaut Instructor Beth Moses hugs Branson and other crew members before spaceflight.

(Credit: Virgin Galactic / Reuters)

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Richard Branson greets students as he heads to board the space plane.

(Credit: Andres Leighton / AP)

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Richard Branson receives some student cards before the flight.

(Credit: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP / Getty Images)

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Branson arrives at Spaceport America by bike just after sunrise.

(Credit: Virgin Galactic / Reuters)

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The guests gather before the launch.

(Credit: Joe Skipper / Reuters)

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A photographer readies his camera as the sun rises over Spaceport America.

(Credit: Andres Leighton / AP)

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On Saturday, July 10, lightning flashes illuminated Spaceport America.

The live broadcast of the Virgin Galactic launch was delayed 90 minutes from the originally scheduled time due to strong winds the night before.

(Credit: David Lienemann / Getty Images)

Chronology

1966 -

"Student" magazine starts shortly before leaving school at the age of 16.

1970 -

Founded Virgin, a mail order record company and soon after a record store in London.

1971 -

Forms the Virgin Records music label and builds a recording studio.

1973 -

The first artist signed by Branson, Mike Oldfield, releases the single "Tubular Bells", which remains on the UK charts for 247 weeks.

1984 -

Virgin Atlantic Airlines form.

1987 -

Branson and Per Lindstrand become the first people to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a hot air balloon.

1992 -

Branson sells Virgin Music Group to Thorn EMI.

He says the sale will allow him to focus on his airline, Virgin Atlantic.

1999 - He

is knighted for his contributions to entrepreneurship.

June 2004 -

Branson crosses the English Channel in one hour, 40 minutes and six seconds in an amphibious vehicle, setting a world record.

September 27, 2004 -

Branson announces a licensing agreement with Mojave Aerospace Ventures (MAV) to ultimately offer commercial space flight through Virgin Galactic.

December 7, 2009 -

Branson introduces SpaceShipTwo, called VSS Enterprise, a commercial spacecraft designed to send passengers into orbit for $ 200,000 a ticket.

January 29, 2010 -

Reveals the Necker Nymph, a three-person submarine that can dive to more than 100 feet.

August 23, 2011 -

A fire caused by lightning destroys Branson's home on Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands.

About 20 people, including Branson, members of his family and actress Kate Winslet, escape unscathed.

July 2012 -

Becomes the oldest person to kitesurf in the English Channel.

November 22, 2013 -

Branson announces that travelers on its commercial space flight can pay with the digital currency bitcoin.

October 31, 2014 -

SpaceShipTwo explodes during a test flight.

One pilot is killed and another is injured.

February 19, 2016 -

Virgin Galactic unveils a new spacecraft, replacing the one that crashed in 2014.

November 27 to December 13, 2018 -

Branson joins Fabien Cousteau and submarine pilot Erika Bergman on a historic expedition to the bottom of Belize's Great Blue Hole, the world's largest sinkhole.

Aquatica's three-person Stingray submarine captured a wealth of sonar and video images to help understand and protect the world's oceans.

Part of the expedition, the first submersible dive, was available via live broadcast on the Discovery Channel.

May 10, 2019 -

Virgin Galactic announces that it will move its spacecraft and 100 of its workers to a building called Spaceport America in New Mexico.

They will join 50 other employees already working there.

May 25, 2020 -

A demonstration launch of Virgin Orbit's two-stage orbital rocket from a 747 aircraft fails. With the launch, the rocket - Launcher One - was expected to fire "its engine in mid-air for the first time," according to a press release.

The company is developing a system to put satellites into orbit using rockets that are launched into the air from under the wing of an airplane.

June 22, 2020 -

Virgin Galactic announces that it has signed a Space Law Agreement with NASA to train private astronauts and coordinate potential trips to the International Space Station.

July 1, 2020 -

Virgin Galactic announces that Branson will conduct its test flight into space on July 11.

July 11, 2021 -

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity spacecraft carrying Branson and three colleagues takes off from Spaceport America in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.

After a successful takeoff of its WhiteKnightTwo mothership, the space plane makes a return landing at Spaceport America.

Richard Branson