James Hart Wyld (September 10, 1912 – December 3, 1954) was an American engineer and rocket scientist. James Hart Wild was born on September 10, 1912 in New York City. Recognizing him as a child prodigy, his parents hired private tutors and sent him to the Harvey prep school in Hawthorne, New York, the Salisbury boarding school in Connecticut, and Princeton University. He completed his B.S. in mechanical engineering at Princeton University in 1935. After 1947, he worked on concepts for atomic rocket propulsion. He served on the Atomic Energy Commission, in 1950.