Jim Kitchen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jim Kitchen
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | August 15, 1964 |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur and professor |
| Known for | First person to travel to all 193 United Nations recognized countries, deepest part of Challenger deep, and to space |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School |
Jim Kitchen (born August 15, 1964) is an American entrepreneur and professor. He is known for amazing adventures! Jim is the first person to visit all 193 countries recognized by the United Nations. He has also traveled to the deepest part of the ocean and even into space.
Contents
Jim Kitchen's Career
Jim Kitchen started his first business in 1985. It was a marketing company that helped promote trips into space. After that, he created an international travel business. He also started several other companies.
Jim helped build a strong community for new businesses in Chapel Hill. He helped open Launch Chapel Hill, which helps new businesses grow. He also started 1789 Venture Lab, a place for students to develop their own business ideas.
Teaching Entrepreneurship
In 2010, Jim Kitchen began teaching at the UNC Kenan–Flagler Business School. He teaches students about entrepreneurship, which is how to start and run a business. His main idea is to teach students to make money while also helping others.
In his classes, students start small businesses. They donate the money they earn to charities. These charities include Make-A-Wish and other helpful groups. Jim's classes have even given cars to people who were finding new homes after being homeless.
Amazing World Travel
Jim Kitchen started traveling internationally when he was in high school. Over the past 30 years, he has visited every single country recognized by the United Nations. There are 193 of these countries!
He visited his 193rd country, Syria, in 2019. Jim is a special member of the Travelers' Century Club. He is a Gold Member because he has visited more than 100 countries.
Journey to Space
On March 14, 2022, a company called Blue Origin announced something exciting. Jim Kitchen would be part of their NS-20 space mission. Famous person Pete Davidson was supposed to go on this flight. However, Pete changed his mind.
Gary Lai, who designed the New Shepard rocket, took Pete Davidson's place. On March 31, 2022, Jim Kitchen made history. He became the first person to visit all 193 U.N. countries and then travel to space. News channels called him the "Modern Day Marco Polo" who went to space.
Deep Ocean Exploration
Jim Kitchen's adventures didn't stop there! On July 5, 2022, he traveled to the deepest part of the ocean. He went in a special submarine called the Limiting Factor.
He went to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. This trench is the deepest spot in the entire ocean. It is about 10,925 to 10,935 meters deep (that's over 35,800 feet!). The Mariana Trench is located near Guam in the Pacific Ocean.
See also
- List of people who descended to Challenger Deep
