Glenn Curtiss - Hammondsport, NY - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

In the annals of early American aviation, the name Curtiss is right up there with Wright. Like the Wrights, Glenn Curtiss got his start with bicycles, but unlike the Wright brothers, he seemed to feel a need for speed. I don’t believe Wilbur and Orville ever put a motor on one of their bicycles. Curtiss, on the other hand, rapidly moved into the emerging motorcycle arena, designing his own engines and participating in races. He famously set a speed record of 136 mph on a V-8 powered motorcycle which he designed himself. This feat earned him the nickname “the fastest man in the world.”

Curtiss’ expertise with lightweight internal combustion engines got him involved with early aviation development, first with Alexander Graham Bell’s Aerial Experiment Association in Canada and eventually with his own company. His contributions to early aviation include the invention of the aileron which made rigid mono-wing designs feasible and became the standard for anti-roll control. He is also credited with the design of retractable landing gear and suitable pontoons for landing and taking off on water.

A modified Curtiss Model D was sold to the U.S. Navy for early experimentation in using airplanes to supplement naval operations. Because of Glenn Curtiss’ close association with the U.S. Navy, he is often referred to as the father of Naval Aviation. His company also developed the JN-4 (nicknamed ‘Jenny’) for the U.S. Army as a trainer. Innumerable JN-4s were sold to various militaries during World War I, many of which still survive in aviation museums.

And Glenn Curtiss is associated with a number of ‘firsts.’ His company sold the first private aircraft, he won a race at the first international air meet in France, he opened the first school for pilots in the U.S. and received the first U.S. pilot’s license (though that was because they were issued alphabetically and C, for Curtiss, comes before W, for Wright). He was also the first to complete a flight between two major cities when he flew from Albany to New York in 1910 winning a $10,000 prize from newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer in the process. By my reckoning, that makes him the first winner of a ‘Pulitzer’ prize.

Glenn Curtiss died in 1930 from complications due to appendicitis. He was only 52 years old. He is buried in the family plot in Pleasant Valley Cemetery in his hometown of Hammondsport, NY.
(Source: wikipedia.org, nationalaviation.org)

Description: See Long Description above. Date of birth: 05/21/1878 Date of death: 07/23/1930 Area of notoriety: Science/Technology Marker Type: Monument Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: none Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link]

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