Early Birds of Aviation facts for kids

39 aviators who died between 1908 and 1912

38 more 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, formally presented to his wife after his death.

The Early Birds of Aviation was a special group for people who were among the very first pilots. This organization started in 1928. It had 598 members who were brave pioneers in flying.

To join, you had to have flown a glider, a gas balloon, or an airplane. Your first flight needed to be before December 17, 1916. This date was chosen because it was the same day Wilbur and Orville Wright made their first flights. The year 1916 was the cutoff because many people learned to fly in 1917 for World War I. Twelve of the members were women, which was very unusual for that time!

The original group ended when its last member passed away. This happened on May 19, 1998, when George D. Grundy Jr. died at 99 years old. Now, the organization has started again. Its goal is to collect and share stories about all the amazing pilots who flew before the 1916 deadline. Some pilots who flew early never joined the club. A few of them have been made honorary members.

Cool Pictures of Early Aviators

Nicholas Rippen Abberly around 1960–1970

Clara Adams, an early aviator, in 1938

Eduardo Aldasoro Suárez and Juan Pablo Aldasoro

General Henry Harley Arnold

Harry Nelson Atwood in 1913

Edgar Wirt Bagnell in 1916

Walter Richard Brookins in 1910

Frank Herbert Burnside in 1916

Carleton George Chapman in 1915

William Whitney Christmas in 1915

Harry Bolton Crewdson around 1915

Theodore Gordon Ellyson around 1910–1915

Francis Thomas Evans Sr. around 1910–1915

Anthony Fokker in 1912

Robert George Fowler around 1915

Byron Quinby Jones around 1910–1915

Frank Purdy Lahm in 1918

Robert Esnault-Pelterie in 1909

Clearton Howard Reynolds in 1910

Holden Chester Richardson around 1915

Igor Sikorsky around 1950

Dorothy Rice Sims in 1916

James Floyd Smith around 1910–1915

Albert Daniel Smith in 1916

Sir Thomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith in 1911

Ralph Hazlett Upson around 1913

Henry Roy Waite in 1912

Clyde Murvin Wood in 1911

Errol Henry Zistel in 1918

Meet the Early Birds: Famous Pilots

Here are some of the amazing people who were members of the Early Birds of Aviation:

A

• Nicholas Rippen Abberly (1891–1983). He built and flew his own plane in New York in 1910.
• Clara Adams (1884–1971). She was known as the "maiden of maiden flights." Clara set records as a passenger, flying on the first trips of famous airships like the Graf Zeppelin and the Hindenburg.
• Walter Joseph Addems (1899–1997). He was one of the very last Early Birds to pass away.
• Eduardo Aldasoro Suárez (1894–1968) and Juan Pablo Aldasoro (1893–1962). These Mexican brothers designed and built gliders. They also created an early airplane engine.
• General Henry Harley Arnold (1886–1950). A very important figure in the United States Air Force.
• William Vincent Astor (1891–1959). His father died in the famous Titanic disaster.
• Harry Nelson Atwood (1883–1967).

B

• Edgar Wirt Bagnell (1890–1958). He learned to fly in Virginia in 1915.
• William Ivy Baldwin (1866–1953).
• Louis Charles Joseph Blériot (1872–1936). A famous French aviator.
• Allan Francis Bonnalie (1893–1983). He was inducted into the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame.
• Caleb Smith Bragg (1885–1943).
• Louis Charles Breguet (1880–1955). A French aircraft designer.
• Georgia Ann Thompson Broadwick (1893–1978) ♀. A pioneering female parachutist.
• Walter Richard Brookins (1889–1953).
• Alys McKey Bryant (1880–1954) ♀.
• Frank Herbert Burnside (1888–1935).

C

• Jeanette Doty Caldwell (1895–1971).
• Joseph Lee Cato (1888–1965). He made his first solo flight in 1909 in a plane he designed himself.
• Clyde Vernon Cessna (1879–1954). He founded the famous Cessna Aircraft Company.
• Carleton George Chapman (1886–1971).
• William Whitney Christmas (1865–1960). He designed one of the first planes with ailerons, which help control the plane's roll.
• Armand Walter Claverie (1896–1993). He soloed in 1912 but had to wait for his pilot's license because he was too young!
• Frank Trenholm Coffyn (1878–1960).
• Glenn Hammond Curtiss (1878–1930). A very important American aviation pioneer and inventor.

D

• Earl Stanley Daugherty (1887–1928).
• Charles Healy Day (1884–1955).
• Charles Dickinson (1858–1935). He was an honorary member and the oldest Early Bird. He used his international flights to bring back seeds for his family's seed company.
• Ralph Clayton Diggins (1887–1959). He was the 26th person in the U.S. to get a pilot's license from the Aero Club of America.
• John Domenjoz (1886–1952). He was the sixth person to perform an aerobatic loop in a plane. His plane is now in the National Air and Space Museum.
• Burton McKendrie Doolittle (1897–1990).
• Francis Victor du Pont (1894–1962). He helped create the Interstate Highway System in the U.S.

E

• Samuel B. Eckert (1884–1973). He first flew solo in 1916.
• Theodore Gordon Ellyson (1885–1928).
• Albert Elton (1888–1975). He soloed in a Wright Model B in 1911.
• Robert Esnault-Pelterie (1881–1957). A French aviation pioneer.
• Francis Thomas Evans Sr. (1886–1974).

F

• Henri Fabre (1882–1984). He was one of the longest-living aviation pioneers, living to be 102!
• Harry Ferguson (1884–1960). From Ireland, he was also known for his work with tractors.
• Anton Herman Gerard Fokker (1890–1939). A famous Dutch aircraft designer.
• Benjamin Delahauf Foulois (1879–1967).
• Robert George Fowler (1884–1966).

G

• Paul Edward Garber (1899–1992). He was a very important historian for the National Air and Space Museum.
• William Wallace Gibson (1876–1965).
• Harry D. Graulich (1896–1968).
• George D. Grundy Jr. (1898–1998). He was the last living member of the original Early Birds of Aviation.

H

• Clifton Overman Hadley (1877–1963). He was the first paid airmail pilot!
• Colonel George Eustace Amyot Hallett (1890–1982). He planned to make the first transatlantic flight but World War I stopped him.
• Thomas Foster Hamilton (1894–1969). He was involved with the Hamilton Standard Company, which made propellers.
• Helen Hodge Harris (1893–1967) ♀.
• Bert R. J. Hassell (1893–1974). He helped figure out the best routes for planes to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.
• Beckwith Havens (1890–1969).
• Alan Ramsay Hawley (1864–1938).
• Albert Sigmund Heinrich (1889–1974).
• Stanley Hiller Sr.. His son, Stanley Hiller Jr., became famous for helicopters.
• Frederick Erastus Humphreys (1883–1941).

I, J

• Leslie Leroy Irvin (1895–1966). He was a pioneer in parachuting.
• Shakir Saliba Jerwan (1881–1942).
• Frank M. Johnson (?–1961). In 1910, he became the first person born in California to own and fly an airplane.
• Byron Quinby Jones (1888–1959).
• Assen Jordanoff (1896–1967).

K

• Frank T. Kastory Sr. (1883–1966). He received his pilot's license in 1913.
• Wilbur Ravel Kimball (1863–1940).
• Augustus Roy Knabenshue (1875–1960).

L

• Božena Laglerová (1886–1941) ♀. This Czech aviator was the first woman licensed by the Austrian Aero Club.
• Frank Purdy Lahm (1877–1963).
• Emil Matthew Laird (1896–1982). He put the first commercial aircraft into production with his company.
• Albert Bond Lambert (1875–1946).
• Ruth Bancroft Law (1887–1970) ♀.
• E. Hamilton Lee (1892–1994).
• Allan Haines Lockheed (1889–1969). He co-founded the famous Lockheed aircraft company.
• Grover C. Loening (1888–1976).

M

• James Cairn Mars (1875–1944). He was the 11th licensed pilot in the United States.
• Glenn Luther Martin (1886–1955). He founded the famous Glenn L. Martin Company, which built many aircraft.
• Didier Masson (1886–1950). A French aviator.
• Hiram Percy Maxim (1869–1936).
• Governor John Alexander Douglas McCurdy (1886–1961).
• Glenn Edmund Messer (1895–1995).
• Bernetta Miller (1884–1972) ♀. She was the fifth woman in the U.S. to get a pilot's license.
• Thomas DeWitt Milling (1887–1960).
• Matilde Moisant (1878–1964) ♀. She was the second woman in the U.S. to get a pilot's license.
• Herbert Arthur Munter Sr. (1895–1970).

N

• Charles Franklin Niles (1888–1916).

O

• Earle Lewis Ovington (1879–1936).

P and Q

• Agustín Parlá Orduña (1887–1946). He was the first person to fly from Key West, Florida, to Mariel, Cuba, setting a world record in 1913.
• Charles Wesley Peters (1889–?). He is thought to be the first African American pilot.
• Augustus Post (1874–1952). He was a classic American adventurer. He was the 13th person to fly in an airplane. He also came up with the word "airport" and helped organize the first transatlantic flight.
• Maurice L. Prévost (1887–1952). A French aviator.
• Harriet Quimby (1875–1912) ♀. She was the first American woman to get a pilot's license.

R

• Admiral DeWitt Clinton Ramsey (1888–1961).
• Clearton Howard Reynolds (1883–1930).
• Holden Chester Richardson (1878–1960).
• Hugh Armstrong Robinson (1881–1963).
• Roland Rohlfs (1892–1974).
• Domingo Rosillo del Toro (1878–1957).
• Oliver Andrew Rosto (1881–1972). He made his first flight in 1909 in a plane he designed himself.
• Lucille Belmont Rutshaw (?–1961) ♀.

S

• Gustavo Adolfo Salinas Camiña (1893–1964) and Alberto Salinas Carranza (1892–1970). Mexican aviators.
• Frank Schoeber (1891–1970). He soloed a plane in New York in 1912.
• Rudolf William Schroeder (1886–1952).
• Blanche Stuart Scott (1885–1970) ♀.
• William Edmund Scripps (1882–1952).
• Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky (1889–1972). A famous aircraft designer, known for helicopters.
• Dorothy Rice Sims (1889–1960) ♀.
• Albert Daniel Smith (1887–1970).
• Hilder Florentina Smith (1890–1977) ♀.
• James Floyd Smith (1884–1956).
• Jay Dee Smith (1889–1963). He made the world's first commercial flight in Florida.
• Sir Thomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith (1888–1989). A very important British aviation pioneer.
• Carl Andrew Spaatz (1891–1974).
• Percival Hopkins Spencer (1897–1995).
• Katherine Stinson (1891–1977) ♀. A famous female aviator.
• Marjorie Stinson (1895–1975) ♀. Also a famous female aviator.
• Elmer Fowler Stone (1887–1936).

T

• DeLloyd Thompson (1888–1949).
• Admiral John Henry Towers (1885–1955). He was a U.S. Navy admiral and a pioneer in naval aviation. He helped develop naval aviation from the very beginning.

U

• Ralph Hazlett Upson (1888–1968).

V

• J. B. R. Verplanck (1881–1955). He flew in the 1913 Great Lakes Reliability Cruise.
• Logan Archbold Vilas (1891–1976), also known as Jack Vilas.

W

• Henry Roy Waite (1884–1978).
• Lesley Lewis Walker Sr. (1888–1960). He built and flew his own plane in 1910.
• Arthur P. Warner (1870–1957).
• Waldo Deane Waterman (1894–1976).
• Clifford Lawrence Webster (1891–1980).
• John Weston (aviator) (1872–1950). A pioneer aviator from Africa.
• Bernard Leonard Whelan (1890–1983).
• Charles F. Willard (1883–1977). He was the first "barnstormer" (a pilot who performed stunts).
• Clyde Murvin Wood (1887–1967).
• Orville Wright (honorary member). One of the famous Wright brothers!
• Wilbur Wright (honorary member). The other famous Wright brother!

Y

• George Elam Yeager (1878–1953).

Z

• Second Lieutenant Errol Henry Zistel (1895–1968).

♀ This means the aviator was a woman.
✝ This means the aviator died in a plane accident.

See also

In Spanish: Pioneros de la aviación para niños

• Aero Club of America
• List of fatalities from aviation accidents
• List of pilots awarded an Aviator's Certificate by the Aéro-Club de France in 1909
• List of pilots awarded an Aviator's Certificate by the Aéro-Club de France in 1910