Selfridge, Thomas Etholen, 1882-1908

Person

Staff Only

Dates

Existence: 1882 - 1908

Biographical Note

Thomas Etholen Selfridge was born on February 8, 1882 in San Francisco, California. In 1903, he graduated from the United States Military Academy. In 1907, he was assigned to the Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps at Fort Myer, Virginia, where he was later instructed in flying a dirigible. He was also a member of the Aerial Experiment Association, which was founded by Alexander Graham Bell.

Selfridge took his first flight on December 6, 1907, on Bell's tetrahedral kite, the Cygnet. This was the first recorded passenger flight of any heavier-than-air craft in Canada. He designed Red Wing, the AEA's first powered aicraft.

He died on September 17, 1908, never recovering from head injuries sustained during a demonstration flight of the Wright Military Flyer at Fort Myer, Virginia, thus making him the first person to die in an airplane crash. The plane was piloted by Orville Wright, who also sustained grave injuries.

Found in 3 Collections and/or Records:

"Bell, Selfridge, and Williams", undated

Item — Box Glass plates box 1, item: 010

Scope and Contents From the Series: With more than 229 cubic feet of material, including prints, negatives, transparencies and scrapbooks, the photographic component of the collection makes up the vast majority of the collection and is an incredible resource of documentary images of aircraft. The series is subdivided into five subseries: aircraft files, non-aircraft files, glass plates, scrapbooks and albums, and the Sommerich collection. The aircraft files are then subdivided by format: prints,...

Dates: undated

Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives / Peter M. Bowers Photograph Collection and Papers / Series I. Photographs / Subseries C. Glass Plates

Biographical Information Files - S

Sub-Group

Scope and Contents Individuals whose names begin with S: Sachs, Donald G. [Aeronautical engineer, B-17 pilot] Brief resumeObituaries, 1998 Saint Exupery, Antoine de [Pilot, author] "The Spirit of Saint-Exupery," no source, undated"Wind, Sand and Wars," Air & Space, December 1994/January 1995 Sakai, Saburo...

Dates: 20th Century

Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives / The Museum of Flight Biographical Information Files

Alexander Graham Bell and the Aerial Experiment Association Photograph Collection

Collection

Identifier: 2018-10-01-B

Abstract

25 photographs of Alexander Graham Bell and other members of the Aerial Experiment Association along with their aerodrome aircraft; souvenir booklet of the association; 2 photomechanical prints signed by J.A. McCurdy.

Dates: 1908-1909

Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

Archives at The Museum of Flight