Early Birds of Aviation

39 aviators who died between 1908 and 1912
38 aviators who died between 1908 and 1912
1936 signatures of Early Birds in recognition of the contribution of Earl Ovington to the First Regular Air Mail service and formally presented to his wife after his death.
Nicholas Rippon Abberly circa 1960–1970
Aviator Clara Adams 1938
Eduardo Aldasoro Suárez and Juan Pablo Aldasoro
Henry Harley Arnold
Harry Nelson Atwood in 1913
Edgar Wirt Bagnell in 1916
Walter Richard Brookins in 1910
Vincent Burnelli in 1940
Frank Herbert Burnside in 1916
Carleton George Chapman in 1915
William Whitney Christmas in 1915
Harry Bolton Crewdson circa 1915
Theodore Gordon Ellyson circa 1910–1915
Francis Thomas Evans Sr. circa 1910–1915
Anthony Fokker in 1912
Robert George Fowler circa 1915
Byron Quinby Jones circa 1910–1915
Frank Purdy Lahm in 1918
Robert Esnault-Pelterie in 1909
Clearton Howard Reynolds in 1910
Holden Chester Richardson circa 1915
Igor Sikorsky circa 1950
Dorothy Rice Sims in 1916
James Floyd Smith circa 1910–1915
Albert Daniel Smith in 1916
Sir Thomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith in 1911
Ralph Hazlett Upson circa 1913
Henry Roy Waite in 1912
Clyde Murvin Wood in 1911
Errol Henry Zistel in 1918

The Early Birds of Aviation is an organization devoted to the history of early pilots. The organization was started in 1928 and accepted a membership of 598 pioneering aviators.[1]

Membership was limited to those who piloted a glider, gas balloon, or airplane, prior to December 17, 1916, covering the entirety of the pioneer era of aviation, and just over two years into World War I. The cutoff date was set at December 17 to correspond to the first flights of Wilbur and Orville Wright. 1916 was chosen as a cutoff because a large number of people were trained in 1917 as pilots for World War I.[2] Twelve of the aviators were women.

The original organization dissolved once the last living member had died. This occurred with the death of 99-year-old George D. Grundy Jr. on May 19, 1998.[1] The organization was restarted and is devoted to collecting and publishing biographies on those who met the 1916 deadline. There were many pilots who soloed before the 1916 deadline who never applied to the club to be members. Some have been made honorary members.

Members

The following are the aviator members:[3]

A

  • Nicholas Rippon Abberly (1891–1983). He was born on March 25, 1891. He built and flew a pusher configuration aircraft in Mineola, New York on Long Island in September 1910. He soloed the aircraft in October 1910. He died in April 1983.[4]
  • Lieutenant Steadham Acker (1896–1952). He was born on March 31, 1896, in Talladega, Alabama, to William H. Acker. He became a Lieutenant in the Naval Air Service from 1918 to 1919. He was the general manager of the Birmingham Municipal Airport and founded the Birmingham Aero Club on January 31, 1932. Acker and Rountree founded and managed the National Air Carnival, an annual Birmingham based airshow. In 1946 he became the director for the National Aviation Clinic in Oklahoma City and ran the Omaha airshow. He died on October 22, 1952, in Jefferson, Alabama, at age 56.
  • Raynold Edward Acre (1889–1966)
  • Baxter Harrison Adams (1885–1951)
Photo of early aviator, Clara Adams, taken circa 1938 by her friend, sculptor Frederic Allen Williams, in New York.
  • Clara Adams (1884–1971) Known as the "maiden flights," Adams set a number of records as a female aviator. She took her first flight in 1914. She flew on the maiden voyage of the Graf Zeppelin and the Hindenburg air ships. She was an Early Bird and a member of the Women's International Association of Aeronautics.[5]
  • Walter Joseph Addems (1899–1997) was the penultimate member of the Early Birds of Aviation to die.[1][6]
  • William Herbert Aitken (1887–1964)
  • Eduardo Aldasoro Suárez (1894–1968)
  • Juan Pablo Aldasoro (1893–1962)
  • Archibald Livingston Allan (1886–1954). He was born on December 20, 1886, in Bayonne, New Jersey. He died in 1954.
  • Walter E. Allen (?–?)
  • Malcolm Graeme Allison (1894–1984) [7]
  • Lawrence Malcolm Allison (1894–1974)
  • Francis Inman Amory (1895–1974)
  • Alex Francis Arcier (1890–1969)
  • Charles Anthony Arens (1895–1967) was the secretary of the Early Birds of Aviation. He was born on December 17, 1895 in Chicago, Illinois.
  • Robert James Armor (1887–1972)
  • Edward Robert Armstrong (1876–1955)
  • Robert T. Armstrong (?–1936)
  • George B. Arnold (1893–1956)
  • General Henry Harley Arnold (1886–1950)
  • Arthur Cruger Aston (1897–1988)
  • William Vincent Astor (1891–1959). His father was John Jacob Astor IV who died in the Titanic disaster
  • Bert Milton Atkinson (1887–1937)
  • Harry Nelson Atwood (1883–1967)
  • Stuart Francis Auer (1898–1958)
  • Reinhardt Norbert Ausmus (1896–1970), aka Reiny Ausmus
  • William L. Avery (?–1942)

B

C

D

  • John B. Daniell (?–1964)
  • Herbert Arthur Dargue (1886–1941)
  • Earl Stanley Daugherty (1887–1928). He was born on April 4. 1887 in Iowa. He died in 1928.
  • Howard Carl Davidson (1926–1998) --->*dubious, if he was born in 1926, that's ten years after the cutoff for eligibility
  • Stuart Verne Davis (1874–1955).
  • Walter C. Davis Sr. (?–1952)
  • Frederick Trubee Davison (1896–1974)
  • Charles Healy Day (1884–1955). He was born in Salamanca, New York on December 29, 1884. He died in Pacific Palisades, California on May 26, 1955.
  • Curtiss LaQ. Day (1895–1972). He was born on May 24, 1896, in Paxton, Illinois. He died in 1972.
  • Antonio Sanche de Bustamente Jr. (1886–1951) of Cuba. His father was Antonio Sanche de Bustamente Sr. of Cuba, a judge of the World Court.[14]
  • Luis de Florez (1889–1962)
  • Clarence Adair Degiers (1888–1987)
  • Dana Chase DeHart (1886–1975)
  • Fred Korstad DeKor (1878–1964). He was born in Lyon County, Iowa on February 24, 1878. He died in 1964.
  • Raphael Sergius de Mitkiewicz (1884–1946)
  • William Austin Denehie (1891–1974)
  • Richard Henry Depew Jr. (1892–1948). He was born in Plainfield, New Jersey on May 20, 1892. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage at his home on January 28, 1948.
  • Lionel Herbert DeRemer (1889–1962). He was born on February 21, 1889, in Harrison, Michigan, to Mcclennan DeRemer (1866-?). He died in 1962.
  • Jean Francis DeVillard (1882–?). He was born in Fordyce, Arkansas on February 28, 1882.
  • Fairman Rogers Dick (1885–1976). He was born on August 7, 1885. He died in 1976.
  • Charles Dickinson (1858–1935). He was made an honorary member. He was born in 1858 which makes him the oldest of the Early Birds of Aviation. He was one of the founding brothers, along with his brothers Albert Dickinson and Nathan Dickinson, of the Dickinson Seed Company in Chicago, Illinois. At the turn of the century it was one of the largest seed companies in the world. Some of his international flights were used to bring back seeds from foreign countries.
  • William C. Diehl (1891–1974)
  • Ralph Clayton Diggins (1887–1959) of the Ralph C. Diggins Company. He was born on March 7, 1887 in Cadillac, Michigan and moved to Chicago, Illinois. He made his first flight in 1912 and was the 26th person in the United States to receive a pilot's license issued by the Aero Club of America. He died in 1959.[15]
  • William E. Doherty (?–1954)
  • Charles H. Dolan II (1895–1981)
  • Charles Dollfus (1893–1981), the father of Audouin Dollfus.
  • John Domenjoz (1886–1952). He was born in Switzerland in 1886. He became an American citizen in 1937. His Blériot airplane is at the National Air and Space Museum. He was the sixth person to loop the loop. He died in 1952.[16]
  • Burton McKendrie Doolittle (1897–1990). He was born on 29 January 1897 in Chicago, Illinois. He died on 27 July 1990 in Monterey, California.
  • Henry Dora (?–1977)
  • Raymond E. Dowd (?–1948)
  • Carl Harry Duede (1886–1956) of Guthrie County, Iowa.
  • David Earle Dunlap (1896–1957)
  • James Leo Dunsworth (1887–1956). He was born on February 6, 1887 in Carrollton, Illinois. He was appointed to the United States Military Academy and graduated in 1909. In 1933 he attended the University of Paris. He died on January 12, 1956 in Los Angeles, California.
  • Francis Victor Dupont (1894–1962). He was the son of Thomas Coleman du Pont. He was a member of the Delaware State Highway Commission from 1922 to 1949 and was appointed commissioner of the Bureau of Public Roads in 1953 and served to 1955. While serving as Commissioner, he recommended a highway program that led to legislation under which the Interstate Highway System was constructed.[17]

E

F

G

  • John Rudolph Gammeter (1876–1957)
  • Harry Gantz (1888–1949)
  • Paul Edward Garber (1899–1992).[22]
  • Ben Garrison (1888–1947)
  • Ivan Rhuele Gates (1890–1932)
  • George Gay (aviator) (1892–1948)
  • Louis H. Gertson (1887–1942)
  • William Wallace Gibson (1876–1965)
  • George S. Gillespie (1889–1975)
  • Edgar Allen Goff Jr. (1896–1989)
  • Frank W. Goodale (1889–1948) [23]
  • Lewis E. Goodier Jr. (1885–1961)
  • Donald H. Gordon (1883–1968)
  • Edgar Staley Gorrell (1891–1945)
  • Harry T. Graham (1874–1952)
  • Charles Hampson Grant (1894–1987)
  • Rudolph R. Grant (?–1950)
  • Harry D. Graulich (1896–1968). He was born in New York City on July 2, 1896. He died on Thursday, October 24, 1968 in Riverside, New Jersey.
  • George Alphonso Gray (1882–1956)
  • John F. Gray (?–1976)
  • William Greene (aviator) (1872–1952) was a dentist.
  • David Gregg (aviator) (1895–1973). He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on September 29, 1895. He died on March 11, 1973.
  • Michael Gregor (1888–1953)
  • George D. Grundy Jr. (1898–1998). He was the last member of the Early Birds of Aviation to die.[1]
  • Emil Gustafson (?–1951).

H

  • Clifton Overman Hadley (1877–1963) was the first paid airmail pilot.[24] He was born on February 10, 1877, to Alfred Hadley and Keziah K. Overman. He married Nellie M. Callahan on October 21, 1902. He died on June 10, 1963, at Reading Hospital and Medical Center in Reading, Pennsylvania at age 87.[25]
  • Ernest C. Hall (1897–1972)
  • Colonel George Eustace Amyot Hallett (1890–1982). He and John Cyril Porte planned to make the first transatlantic flight. They were going to use a flying boat commissioned by Rodman Wanamaker, but were prevented by the start of World War I.
  • Garnet Roy Halliday (1891–1955) of Canada. He was born on June 21, 1891, in Canada. He died on January 27, 1955, in Los Angeles, California.
  • Thomas Foster Hamilton (1894–1969) of the Hamilton Standard Company.
  • Lee Hammond (1890–1932)
  • Stedman Shumway Hanks (1889–1979)
  • Major General Thomas James Hanley Jr. (1893–1969)
  • Lieutenant General Millard Harmon (1888–1945) was in the United States Army Air Forces during the Pacific campaign in World War II. He died on March 3, 1945.
  • William Harper Jr. (?–?)
  • Helen Hodge Harris (1893–1967). ♀
  • Arthur John Hartman (1888–1970). He died on October 19, 1970.
  • Harold Hartney (1888–1945)
  • Bert Raymond John Hassell (1893–1974)
  • Charles Edward Hathorn (1879–1955). He was born on December 6, 1879 in of Mason City, Iowa. In 1912 he flew his Curtiss-type biplane from the prairie between Mason City, Iowa and Clear Lake, Iowa. He died on May 21, 1955 in Los Angeles, California.
  • William E. Haupt (?–1955)
  • Beckwith Havens (1890–1969)
  • Commander Willis Bradley Haviland (1890–1944)
  • Alan Ramsay Hawley (1864–1938)
  • Jack W. Heard (1887–1976)
  • Edward Bayard Heath (1888–1931)
  • Andrew Hallenbeck Heermance (1895–1984)
  • Major Leo Gerald Heffernan (1889–1956)
  • Howard J. Heindell (1896–1972). He was born in Oil City, Pennsylvania on August 3, 1896. He died on June 9, 1972.
  • Albert Sigmund Heinrich (1889–1974)
  • Arthur O. Heinrich (1887–1958). He was born on April 18, 1887.
  • John C. Henning (1878–1953)
  • Charles A. Herrman (?–1953)
  • Charles E. Hess (?–1968)
  • Eugene Heth (1879–1959), aka Wild Bill Heth.
  • William A. Hetlich Jr. (?–1962)
  • Robert Penrose Hewitt (1894–1953). He was born in Philadelphia on July 2, 1894. He died in 1953.[26]
  • John E. Hickey (1890–1970). He was born on January 26, 1890 in Springfield, Illinois. He died in Ashland, Illinois on August 11, 1970, three weeks after his appendix ruptured.
  • Frederick C. Hild (1890–1963). He was born in 1890. He died in Miami, Florida on October 31, 1963.
  • Erik Hildes-Heim (1894–1983)
  • Stanley Hiller Sr., the father of Stanley Hiller Jr. (1924–2006)
  • Edward Foote Hinkle (1876–1967). He was born on May 22, 1876.
  • Melvin Wyman Hodgdon (1896–1980)
  • Russell F. Holderman (1895–1981). He was born on February 26, 1895. He died on May 25, 1981 at age 86.
  • Edward Henry Holterman (1886–1964)
  • Max Holtzem (1892–1980)
  • Frederick Adam Hoover (1887–1981)
  • Orton William Hoover (1891–1958). He was born on March 11, 1891 in Fairmount, Indiana. He died on June 16, 1958.
  • Clarence F. Horton (?–1964).
  • Frederick Edgar Hummel (1896–1975). He was born on August 18, 1896, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to John Peter Hummel. He died on May 26, 1975, in Richmond, Virginia.
  • Frederick Erastus Humphreys (1883–1941)
  • Howard Huntington (1885–1968)
  • Joseph Raymond Hutchinson (1886–1975)

I, J

  • Leslie Leroy Irvin (1895–1966)
  • Edwin Kenneth Jaquith (1892–1984)
  • William C. Jenkins (?–1957) of Staten Island, New York City.
  • Shakir Saliba Jerwan (1881–1942)
  • Christian Johanssen (?–?)
  • Major General Davenport Johnson (1890–1963)
  • Edward Albert Johnson (1885–1949)
  • Frank M. Johnson (?–1961). On February 12, 1910 he became the first native Californian to own and fly an airplane.
  • James M. Johnson (1885–?). He was born July 19, 1885 in Helena, Arkansas to Belle T. and James B. Johnson. He married Cornelia Spencer on June 25, 1912.
  • Louis Johnson (?–1963)
  • Robert R. Johnson (1891–1959). He was born in 1891. He was awarded Fédération Aéronautique Internationale certificate number 205 in 1913. He died in St. Louis, Missouri on November 5, 1959.[27]
  • Victor G. Johnson (?–1983)
  • Walter Ellsworth Johnson (1889–1961)
  • Archibald B. Johnston (?–1950)
  • Byron Quinby Jones (1888–1959)
  • Ernest LaRue Jones (1882–1955)
  • Harry M. Jones (1890–1973)
  • Assen Jordanoff (1896–1967)

K

  • John William Kabitzke (1885–1944). He was born on August 18, 1885 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Paul Peter Kabitzke. He married Roxie Rockcastle. He died on August 15, 1944 in Elgin, Illinois
  • John G. Kaminski (1893–1960)
  • Harold Dewolf Kantner (1886–1973)
  • Frank T. Kastory Sr. (1883–1966). He was born on April 11, 1883 in Nyagy Kikinda, Hungary. He became a United States citizen in 1908. He received Fédération Aéronautique Internationale license number 261 on August 12, 1913. He married Ida Brandenburg on June 27, 1917 in Chicago, Illinois. He died in 1966 in Bradenton, Florida.[28]
  • Victorin Katchinsky (1891–1986)
  • Horace P. Keane (1885–1974). He was born on July 29, 1885 in St. Joseph, Michigan. He died on May 7, 1974 in Topanga, California.
  • George Martin Keightley (1886–1967). He was born on 5 June 5, 1886. He died on December 30, 1967 and was buried in Tennessee.
  • Edward A. Kelly (?–?)
  • Ralph B. Kennard (?–1978)
  • Frank M. Kennedy (?–1965)
  • Walter G. Kilner (1888–1940)
  • Leo B. Kimball (1896–1977)
  • Wilbur Ravel Kimball (1863–1940).[29]
  • Ralph Mason Kinderman (1887–1969). He was born on August 13, 1887 at Grafton, West Virginia. He died October 21, 1969 in Middletown, New Jersey.
  • Bertell Wadsworth King (1887–1968)
  • Dr. Jerome Kingsbury (1871–1944)
  • James L. Kinney (?–1976)
  • Roy Carrington Kirtland (1874–1941)
  • Daniel Kiser (?–1934)
  • Augustus Roy Knabenshue (1875–1960)
  • Roland Southard Knowlson (1893–1957) of Kansas City, Missouri
  • Alfred Koenig (?–1960) of Germany.
  • August Karl Koerbling (1894–1970). He was born on August 27, 1894. He died on April 29, 1970 in Los Angeles.
  • Esten Bolling Koger (1881–1941)
  • Edward Albert Korn (1888–1980). He was born on March 2, 1888 in Montre, Ohio and had an aviator brother, Milton Homer Korn (1889–1913) who died in a airplane crash. Edward died in September 17, 1980 in Sea Girt, New Jersey. He was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Lansing, Michigan.
  • James S. Krull (?–1978)
  • Carl T. Kuhl (?–1952)

L

  • John Kerr LaGrone (1890–1953)
  • Frank Purdy Lahm (1877–1963)
  • Emil Matthew Laird (1896–1982). He put the first commercial aircraft into production at his E. M. Laird Aviation Company.
  • Dean Ivan Lamb (1886–1956)
  • Albert Bond Lambert (1875–1946)
  • Corporal William Antony Lamkey (?–1963). He died on January 7, 1963 at the Veterans Hospital, in West Los Angeles, California.
  • Jean Marie Landrey (1888–1956)
  • Boyd Latham (?–1961)
  • Ruth Bancroft Law (1887–1970) ♀
  • Frank William LaVista (1893–1963). He was born on March 11, 1893 in New York City. He attended North Carolina University. By 1930 he was living in Hempstead, New York. He died on July 1, 1963.
  • Oliver Colin LeBoutillier (1894–1983)
  • E. Hamilton Lee (1892–1994)
  • Robert Edward Lee (1886–1973)
  • Walter Edwin Lees (1887–1957)
  • Bruce Gardner Leighton (1892–1965)
  • Willy Lenert (1885–1968) aka Willie Lenert of Michigan
  • Lawrence Leon (1889–1965)
  • Lawrence J. Lesh (1892–1965)
  • Samuel C. Lewis (1886–1946)
  • Goethe Link (1879–1980)
  • Walter Lissauer (1882–1965). He migrated from Germany to New Jersey.
  • Allan Haines Lockheed (1889–1969)
  • Grover C. Loening (1888–1976)
  • Albin Kasper Longren (1882–1950)
  • Flavius Earl Loudy (?–1953)
  • Israel Ludlow (1873–1955)

M

  • Colonel Theodore Charles Macaulay (1887–1965). He was born on September 30, 1887, in Minnesota. He died on April 19, 1965, in San Diego, California. He was buried in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.
  • Leslie C. MacDill (1889–1938) ✝. He died in a aircrash.
  • Charles Stuart MacDonald (1884–1953)
  • Robert Francis MacFie (1881–1943)
  • Emory Malick (1881–1958)
  • Kenneth Marr (?–1963)
  • James Cairn Mars (1875–1944). He was the 11th licensed pilot in the United States.
  • Richard C. Marshall (?–?). He was an airmail pilot.
  • Glenn Luther Martin (1886–1955)
  • Colonel Harold S. Martin (1892–1961)
  • James Vernon Martin (1885–1956)
  • Didier Masson (1886–1950) of France
  • William A. Mattery (?–1960) of Hornell, New York.
  • Hiram Percy Maxim (1869–1936)
  • James C. McBride (?–?)
  • James B. McCalley Jr. (?–?)
  • John W. McClaskey (?–1953)
  • Governor John Alexander Douglas McCurdy (1886–1961)
  • Edward Orrick McDonnell (1891–1960)
  • Lieutenant William Maitland McIlvain (1885–1963)
  • George F. McLaughlin (?–1962)
  • Lieutenant Emil Meinecke (1892–1975)
  • George Meissner (1894–1947)
  • Russell L. Meredith (?–1965)
  • Glenn Edmund Messer (1895–1995). He was born in Henry County, Iowa on July 12, 1895. He died on June 13, 1995 in Birmingham, Alabama.
  • Cord Meyer, possibly the father of Cord Meyer
  • Charles W. Meyers (1896–1972)
  • Bernetta Miller (1884–1972). ♀ She was the fifth licensed woman pilot in the United States.
  • Lestere Miller (1894–1963)
  • Lloyd E. Miller (1890–1968), aka Hank Miller.
  • William C. Miller (?–?)
  • Thomas DeWitt Milling (1887–1960)
  • Frank Mills (aviator) (?–1940)
  • Robert J. Minshall (?–1954) of Seattle, Washington.
  • Arthur H. Mix (1885–1971). He was born on March 19, 1885.
  • Matilde Moisant (1878–1964). ♀ She was the second woman in the United States to get a pilot's license.[30][31]
  • Robert S. Moore (1867–1944)
  • Stuart A. Morgan (1893–1975)
  • Raymond Vincent Morris (1890–1943). He was born on 31 August 1890 in Milford, Connecticut. He died on 6 July 1943.
  • Percy George Brockhurst Morriss (1885–1944)
  • Herbert Arthur Munter Sr. (1895–1970). He was born on 13 June 1894 in Seattle, Washington. He died on 24 May 1970 in Concord, California.
  • George Dominic Murray (1889–1956)
  • Edwin Charles Musick (1894–1938)
  • George Francis Meyers (1865–1961)

N

  • Earl L. Naiden (1894–1944)
  • C. Edward Nelson (?–?)
  • Nels J. Nelson (1887–1964)
  • Douglas Blakeshaw Netherwood (1885–1943)
  • George Netzow (1889–1977) of Neuenbrook, Germany
  • John M. H. Nichols (?–1982)
  • Charles Franklin Niles (1888–1916)
  • Russell B. North (1893–1972)

O

P

  • George A. Page Jr. (?–1983)
  • Stanley H. Page (?–?)
  • Joseph Marie Pallissard (1886–1960)
  • Harry Park (1869–1955)
  • Evan Jenkins Parker (1885–1966)
  • Fred F. Parker (?–1965)
  • Will D. Parker (?–1981)
  • Agustín Parlá Orduña (1887–1946)
  • Edwin Charles Parsons (1892–1968)
  • Charles H. Paterson (?–?)
  • John W. Pattison (1884–1957). He was born on March 10, 1884 in Milford, Ohio. He died on January 24, 1957.
  • Felix Wladyslaw Pawlowski (1876–1951)
  • John F. Petre (?–1969)
  • Luba G. Phillips (1888–1959)
  • Elmo Neale Pickerill (1885–1968)
  • Sydney Pickles (1894–1975)
  • Percy Pierce (?–1962)
  • Samuel S. Pierce (1887–1973). He died on August 4, 1973 in Milton, Massachusetts.
Aviator, balloonist, and automotive pioneer Augustus Post
  • Augustus Post (1874–1952) Post was a classic American adventurer who distinguished himself as an automotive pioneer, balloonist, early aviator, writer, actor, musician and lecturer. He was the 13th man to fly in an airplane, coined the term "airport," conceived and organized the transatlantic air crossing that became the Lindbergh flight, and served a secretary to the Aero Club of America for more than 20 years.
  • Edwin M. Post Jr. (1893–1973)
  • George Birkbeck Post (1891–1960)
  • Claude Washington Pound (1885–1980).[32]
  • Clarence Oliver Prest (1896–1954)
  • Maurice L. Prévost (1887–1952) of France. He was born in France on September 22, 1887. He married Jeanne Catherine Françoise Mulaton (1881–1956) in Reims in 1921. He died in Neuilly-sur-Seine on November 27, 1952.
  • Frederick Holly Prime (1888–1985)
  • Frederick H. Prince Jr. (?–1962)
  • John Daniel Probst Jr. (1895–1932). He was born on July 18, 1895 in New York.
  • Ira J. Profitt (1888–1972) He was born in 1888. He died on August 24, 1972 at the Santa Monica Hospital in Santa Monica, California at the age of 80.
  • George H. Prudden (1893–1964)
  • Sam A. Purcell (?–1942)

R

S

  • Gustavo Adolfo Salinas Camiña (1893–1964)
  • Alberto Salinas Carranza (1892–1970) of Mexico.
  • Bert Saunders (?–1945) of San Francisco, California.
  • Brigadier General Martin F. Scanlon (1889–1980). He was born on August 11, 1889. He died on January 26, 1980 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.[36]
  • Lieutenant William G. Schauffer (?–1951)
  • Frank Schoeber (1891–1970). He was born in New York City on April 21, 1891. He soloed a plane in August 1912 in Mineola, New York. He had a stroke in 1961. He died on July 19, 1970 in Cape May, New Jersey at the age of 79.
  • Rudolf William Schroeder (1886–1952)
  • Major Edward Graf Schultz (1898–1943). ✝ He was born in 1898 in New Jersey. He was killed in action on July 29, 1943 near Yangkai, China after returning from a bombing mission over Hong Kong.
  • Blanche Stuart Scott (1885–1970) ♀
  • Lieutenant Lyle H. Scott (1886–1930). ✝ He was killed in an aircrash.
  • George Henry Scragg (1890–1968)
  • William Edmund Scripps (1882–1952)
  • Howard M. Shafer (1893–1973)
  • Castle W. Shaffer (1882–1954) aka Lucky Bob Saint Henry.
  • Cleve Thomas Shaffer (1884–1964). He was born on December 3, 1884.
  • Walter J. Shaffer (1891–1974)
  • Robert F. Shank (1891–1968)
  • Samuel H. Sharp (?–1965)
  • Benson Russell Shaw (1894–1961)
  • William H. Sheahan (1872–1956). He was born on August 22, 1872. He died on September 11, 1956. His archive is housed at the National Air and Space Museum.
  • A. P. Shirley (?–1951)
  • Charles W. Shoemaker (1891–1950)
  • Joseph Clark Shoemaker (1881–1956). He was born in Bridgeton, New Jersey on January 8, 1881 to Clement Waters Shoemaker. He attended Princeton University. he died in 1956.
  • Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky (1889–1972)
  • Milton H. Simmons (?–1969)
  • Oliver G. Simmons (1878–1948)
  • Robert Simon (?–?)
  • Dorothy Rice Sims (1889–1960) ♀
  • Cecil Raymond Sinclair (188–1986). He was born on April 8, 1888 in Chandlerville, Illinois
  • Albert Daniel Smith (1887–1970)
  • Hilder Florentina Smith (1890–1977) ♀
  • James Floyd Smith (1884–1956)
  • Jay Dee Smith (?–1963)
  • Lawton Vasque Smith (1894–1963)
  • Major General Ralph C. Smith(1893–1998)
  • Orval Huff Snyder (1892–1951) was treasurer for Aire-Kraft
  • Oscar A. Solbrig (1870–1941)
  • Sir Thomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith (1888–1989)
  • Carl Andrew Spaatz (1891–1974)
  • Commander Earl Winfield Spencer Jr. (1888–1950)
  • Percival Hopkins Spencer (1897–1995)
  • Thomas Eric Springer (1892–1971)
  • Anthony Stadlman (1886–1982).[37][38]
  • William M. Stark (?–1942)
  • Arney P. Stenrud (1895–1955)
  • Thomas E. Steptoe (1884–1960)
  • John B. Stetson, possibly a descendant of John Batterson Stetson
  • Robert J. Stewart (1883–1948)
  • Edward Stinson (1893–1932)
  • Katherine Stinson (1891–1977) ♀
  • Marjorie Stinson (1895–1975) ♀
  • Paul R. Stockton (1880–1962)
  • Arthur Burr Stone (1874–1943)
  • Elmer Fowler Stone (1887–1936)
  • Lieutenant General George Edward Stratemeyer (1890–1969)
  • John Gale Stratton (?–1961)
  • Paul Studenski (1888–1936)
  • Max F. Stupar (1885–1944) [39]
  • Hugo Sunstedt (1886–1966)
  • Harry B. Suppe (?–1969)
  • William Fred Suppe (?–1969)
  • Andrew M. Surini (1894–1958)
  • Adolph Gilbert Sutro (1891–1981). He was born on October 25, 1891, in San Francisco, California.
  • John Redondo Benjamin Sutton (1890–1947)

T

  • Maurice Tabuteau (1884–1976)[40]
  • Gurdon Lucius Tarbox (1888–1971)
  • Lansing Kellogg Tevis (1893–1957)
  • Lieutenant Colonel William Thaw (1893–1934)
  • Joseph H. Thomas (?–1965)
  • William T. Thomas (1888–1966)
  • DeLloyd Thompson (1888–1949)
  • Carl H. Thomsen (?–1984)
  • Charles Burrell Tibbs (1896–1965)
  • Samuel Alexander Tickell (1890–1966). He was born on September 4, 1890, in New York City, New York, He died in 1966.
  • Carter Tiffany (1896–1977)
  • Otto William Timm (1893–1978)
  • Henry Edwards Toncray (1894–1929)
  • Joseph R. Torrey (1892–1983)
  • Admiral John Henry Towers (1885–1955) was a United States Navy admiral and pioneer naval aviator. He made important contributions to the technical and organizational development of naval aviation from its very beginnings, eventually serving as Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics (1939–1942). He commanded carrier task forces during World War II, and retired in December 1947. He and Marc Mitscher were the only early Naval Aviation pioneers to survive the extreme hazards of early flight to remain with naval aviation throughout their careers. He was the first naval aviator to achieve flag rank and was the most senior advocate for naval aviation during a time when the Navy was dominated by battleship admirals. Towers spent his last years supporting aeronautical research and advising the aviation industry.
  • James Clifford Turpin (1886–1966)
  • Horace B. Tuttle (1881–1964)
  • John H. Tweed (?–1961)

U

V

  • George E. Van Arsdale (?–1948)
  • Clifford C. Vandivort (1893–1938) of Pennsylvania. He was the son of Margaret and Ezra Vandivort
  • Stanley Irving Vaughn (1886–1972). He was born on December 16, 1886, to Tillinghast Mowry Vaughn and Adell P. Case. He died on March 9, 1972, in Columbus, Ohio
  • Victor Vernon (1883–1968)
  • J. B. R. Verplanck (1881–1955) of Fishkill-on-Hudson, New York, aviator who flew in the 1913 Great Lakes Reliability Cruise[42]
  • Logan Archbold Vilas (1891–1976), aka Jack Vilas
  • Sydney Archibald Vincent (1894–1976). He was born on June 28, 1894, in Faribault, Minnesota. He resided in Tabb, Virginia, in 1945 when he worked for Newport News Shipbuilding.

W

Y

  • George Elam Yeager (1878–1953)
  • David H. Young (?–1978)
  • Edward H. Young (?–1948)

Z

  • Second Lieutenant Errol Henry Zistel (1895–1968)

♀ denotes a female aviator
 ✝ denotes died in an aviation accident.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Robert McG. Thomas Jr. (May 22, 1998). "George D. Grundy Jr., 99, Last of Pioneers in Aviation". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-08-28. George D. Grundy Jr., the last of the world's first fliers, died on Tuesday at a nursing home in Leesburg, Fla. He was 99 and had been the sole surviving member of the Early Birds, an international organization of aviation pioneers.
  2. ↑ "The Men and Women Who Taught World To Fly Were a Dedicated Crew". The New York Times. October 11, 1953. Retrieved 2012-08-27. "Early Birds" is an organization whose membership requirement is that the applicant must have flown in either an airship or an airplane during the first thirteen years of aviation. between 1903 and 1916. ...
  3. ↑ "Early Birds of Aviation". National Air and Space Museum.
  4. ↑ "Nicholas Rippon Abberly". Early Aviators.
  5. ↑ "University of Texas Clara Adams Collection" (PDF). University of Texas Special Collections.
  6. ↑ Robert McG. Thomas Jr. (December 7, 1997). "Walter J. Addems, 98, Aviation Pioneer, Barnstormer and Airline Official, Is Dead". The New York Times. Walter J. Addems, a pioneering aviator who built his first plane in 1916 and his last one in 1960s, but only after he had barnstormed across the nation and flown the mail in 1920s, trained pilots in 1930s and served as director of flight operations for United Airlines until 1950s, died on Nov. 21 at a hospital in Palo Alto, Calif. He was 98 and for all his love of aviation, had not flown since 1980s. ... But he had flown alone in time to qualify for membership in an exclusive club: the Early Birds, 598 men and women who had flown solo, some in hot air balloons, before Dec. 17, 1916. ...
  7. ↑ "Army Boy Builds Glider That Flies. Airship You've Seen Over Governors Island Is the Toy of the Post's Children. Girl Made Flight In It. It Was Made by Col. Allison's Son, Malcolm, Out of Varnished Cambric and Birch Wood. Now Being Repaired". The New York Times. October 9, 1911. ... and on passing ferryboats wonder who the aviator was and the kind of a machine ... and the inventor and maker is Malcolm Allison, the 17–year-old son of Col.
  8. ↑ "Caleb Smith Bragg, Dies. Flier, Auto Racer, Pioneer in Automotive Field. Also Noted as an Inventor and Speedboat Pilot". The New York Times. November 24, 1943. Caleb S. Bragg, long a leading figure in the aviation, automobile and motorboat fields, died here on Sunday in Memorial Hospital after a long illness at the age of 56. An engineer and the inventor or co-inventor of many automobile devices, including the widely used Bragg-Kliesrath brake perfected by him and the late Victor W. Kliesrath. Mr. Bragg won fame as a pioneer automobile racing driver, and Army test pilot during the first World War, a champion altitude flier, aviation manufacturing company officer, consulting engineer and amateur sportsman. He resided at 277 Park Avenue and at Montauk Point, L.I.
  9. ↑ "William S. Brock Dead". Associated Press. November 13, 1932. Retrieved 2010-10-23. Brock, as he was christened, but known as Billy Brock In aviation circles, ... In 1927 Brock and Edward Schlee tried to break the existing record for flight ...
  10. ↑ "Walter Brookins, 63, Early Record Flyer". The New York Times. April 30, 1953. Walter Brookins, pioneer aviator and leading aviation figure, died today at his home after an illness of four months. His age was ...
  11. ↑ "Brown's Altitude Record. Aviator Flies with Passenger 5,000 Feet at Aviation Meet". The New York Times. November 6, 1912. Brown used a Wright biplane, in which he made a number of exhibitions and unique ...
  12. ↑ "Ralph Carter, One of Last Early Birds of Aviation". Los Angeles Times. July 18, 1984. Ralph Carter, who flew for the first time in 1911 when he was a Nebraska country boy and lived to become one of a handful of survivors of the Early Birds of ...
  13. ↑ "Frank Trenholm Coffyn. Original Member of Wright Brothers Exhibition Team. Mapped Airmail Routes". The New York Times. Associated Press. December 11, 1960.
  14. ↑ "World Court Clash Subsides At Geneva". The New York Times. September 21, 1930. Antonio Sanche de Bustamente of Cuba, a judge of the World Court, was responsible for the Cuban policy ...
  15. ↑ "McHenry Countian Was An Air Pioneer". Chicago Tribune. November 27, 1994. In 1912, Ralph Clayton Diggins made a successful flight and became the 26th person in the United States to receive a pilot's license. It was issued by the Aero Club of America in New York City, before the days of federal regulation.
  16. ↑ "John Domenjoz". Early Aviators.
  17. ↑ "Francis V. Dupont". Federal Highway Administration. Archived from the original on 2011-10-24.
  18. ↑ "Samuel B. Eckert". Early Aviators.
  19. ↑ "Albert Elton". Early Aviators.
  20. ↑ "Marriage Announcement" (PDF). The New York Times. February 6, 1919. Capt. J. Dickinson Este, Air Service Aeronautics, United States Army, son of the late Charles Este and Mrs. Este of Philadelphia.
  21. ↑ "John Frost". Early Aviators. John Frost was born at San Antonio, September 10, 1883. He graduated from Princeton in 1903 and entered the banking business. In 1916 he learned to fly at the Stinson School, bought his own airplane and had some 200 hours when commissioned directly from civil life as First Lieutenant, Signal Officers Reserve Corps, July 10, 1917. He passed his R.M.A. test October 15, 1917. ...
  22. ↑ "Paul E. Garber, 93, First Curator Of National Air and Space Exhibit". The New York Times. September 25, 1992. Paul E. Garber, whose childhood fascination with a kite inspired a lifelong love of aviation that led to the founding of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, died on Wednesday at the Arlington Hospital in Arlington, Va. He was 93 years old and lived in Arlington. ... An amateur flier, he was three times elected president of the Early Birds of Aviation, a fraternity of pilots who flew solo before 1916.
  23. ↑ "Brother Dies in Florida". Ludington Daily News. September 17, 1948. ... held pilot license number 6 ...
  24. ↑ "Clifton O. Hadley Flies to Scene of His Early Triumphs". The New York Times. February 13, 1939. Clifton O. Hadley, a pioneer of aviation and said at Bendix Field to have been the first paid air-mail pilot, made a sentimental air journey to Tarrytown, NY, today, ...
  25. ↑ "Clifton Hadley, 87, A Pioneer Aviator". The New York Times. June 11, 1963. Clifton O. Hadley, a pioneer airplane pilot, died yesterday in Reading Hospital. He was 87 years old. Mr. Hadley made his first solo flight ...
  26. ↑ Who's Who in American Aeronautics. 1922. Hewitt, Robert P., Test Pilot; born, Philadelphia, Pa. July 2 [sic], 1894; son of Luther E. Hewitt and Nellie (Jennings) Hewitt; married, Millicent G. Hand, Dec. 7, 1917. Educated: Central High School, Philadelphia, Pa.; Temple University. Professional: Civilian Aviation. Aeronautical Activities: 1911, Building and flying gliders; 1917–1918, instructing and test pilot, Call Field; 1918, detached service, Naval Air Station, Miami; 1919, Chief Pilot, Aero Limited; 1920, Aero Ltd. and Aero Service Corp., Philadelphia, Pa.; 1921–1922, Wright Aeronautical Corp. Flying Rating: Aero Club Pilots Certificate No. 8609; Experts Certificate No. 228; Civilian No. 701; Reserve Military Aviator. War Service: 2nd Pennsylvania F. A. from beginning of war to Sept. 1917 when transferred to Air Service. Member: Aero Club of America; Automobile Association; American Legion. Present Occupation: Test Pilot, Wright Aeronautical Corp. Address: 238 Lewis St., Paterson, N. J.; home, 111 E. Durham St., Philadelphia, Pa.
  27. ↑ "Robert R. Johnson". Early Aviators. Robert R. Johnson, 68, of Salem, Missouri passed away November 5, 1959 in a St. Louis hospital after a long illness. A holder of F. A. I. license 205 issued in 1913, he learned to fly at St Louis early in 1911, and during the next five years he flew extensively with various planes and flying boats.
  28. ↑ "Frank Kastory, Among Earliest Fliers, Recalls Aerial Feats". St. Petersburg Times. December 12, 1955. Kastory is a member of early Birds." This club is composed of about 500 persons who flew a plane 'solo' prior to 1916. Kastory is about as early a bird as there is ...
  29. ↑ "Wilbur R. Kimball, Aircraft Inventor. Builder of First Helicopter in U.S. Perfected Electrical Devices. Dies at 77. Aide to Alexander Bell. Edison Helper. Devised a System for Underground Transmission of Power". The New York Times. July 31, 1940. Wilbur R. Kimball, electrical and aircraft inventor, who was associated in his youth with Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas A. Edison, died late Monday night in St. Luke's Hospital of organic maladies, it was learned yesterday. His age was 77.
  30. ↑ "Matilde Moisant, Early Flyer, Dies. Second Woman in Country to Get Pilot's License". The New York Times. February 7, 1964.
  31. ↑ "Miss Moisant Wins License. Second Woman In This Country To Prove Her Ability To Fly". The New York Times. Garden City, Long Island. August 13, 1911. With the wind eddies flattened to almost a dead calm, Miss Matilda Moisant, sister of the late John B. Moisant, who was killed at New Orleans last January, distinguished herself this morning as the second woman in this country to win a pilot's license under the rules of the Aero Club of America.
  32. ↑ "Claude Pound. Former Vice President of Electric Auto-Light Co". Toledo Blade. June 8, 1980. Claude W. Pound, 95 ...
  33. ↑ "DeWitt Clinton Ramsey Dead. Admiral Led U. S. Pacific Fleet. Veteran of 37 Years. Retired in 1949. Aviation Officer Commanded the Saratoga". The New York Times. September 8, 1961. Admiral DeWitt Clinton Ramsey, former commander in of the Pacific Fleet, died in the Philadelphia Naval Hospital at the age of 72 ...
  34. ↑ "Captain C. H. Reynolds. Member of Army Air Corps Dies After an Auto Accident". The New York Times. February 16, 1930. The War Department has been notified from Clemens, Mich., of the death there today of Clearton H. Reynolds of Garden City, L.I., Captain in the Army Air Corps ...
  35. ↑ "Clearton H. Reynolds". Early Aviators. Early Bird Clearton H. Reynolds, Capt., A. C., lost his life in an automobile accident, at Mt. Clemens, Mich., on February 14, 1930.
  36. ↑ "Gen. Martin F. Scanlon, Early Aviator in Military". The New York Times. January 29, 1980. Brig. Gen. Martin Francis Scanlon of the Army, retired, and one of the first military aviators, died of heart failure Saturday at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He was 90 years old.
  37. ↑ "Anthony Stadlman, 96, A Pioneer Of Lockheed". The New York Times. Associated Press. September 10, 1982. Anthony Stadlman, an early pioneer of the original Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, is dead at the age of 96, friends said today. ...
  38. ↑ "Lockheed co-founder dies at 96". United Press International. September 10, 1982.
  39. ↑ "Max F. Stupar". Early Aviators. Max Stupar, 59, Austrian-born industrial-aviation planner; in an airplane crash, while flying a twin-engined cargo plane from Marietta, Ga. to Buffalo, N.Y.; near Wright Field, Dayton.
  40. ↑ Maurice Tabuteau; earlyaviators.com Retrieved February 12, 2016
  41. ↑ "Ralph Upson, 80, Balloonist, Dies. Racing Champion Turned to Planes Later in Career". The New York Times. August 15, 1968. Ralph Hazlett Upson, aeronautical engineer who was a balloon-racing champion from 1913 to 1921, died Tuesday at Burien General Hospital. ...
  42. ↑ Noel, E. Percy (May 31, 1913). "Aero and Hydro Great Lakes Reliability Cruise Entries to Date" (Volume VI No 9). Aero and Hydro. p. 166. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  43. ↑ "Charles F. West". Early Aviators. Charles F. West, North Pacific Area Chairman, died July 14, 1972, after a brief stay in the hospital just after returning from an eastern trip. ...
  44. ↑ http://www.johnwestonaviator.co.uk
  45. ↑ "Charles R. Wittemann, 82, Dies. Pioneer Aeronautical Engineer". The New York Times. July 9, 1967. Neptune, New Jersey, July 8, 1967. Charles R. Wittemann, a flier and pioneer aeronautical engineer, died today at the Jersey Shore Medical Center. He was 82 years old and lived on Paynters Road in Farmingdale. ...
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