Grahame-White, Claude, 1879-

Person

Staff Only

Dates

Existence: 1879 - 1959

Biographical Note

Claude Grahame-White was an English early aviator and pioneer, including being the first to make a night flight.

Claude Grahame-White was born on August 21, 1879 in Burlesdon, Hamshire, England. After Louis Blériot's crossed the English Channel in 1909, he gained an interest in avation and enrolled in Blériot's flying school in France. In Arpil 1910, he was awarded Royal Aero Club certificate number six, becoming one of the first people in England to qualify to fly. Grahame-White subsequently entered various air races, including the 1910 London to Manchester air race where he became the first to complete a night flight.

In 1911, he founded the Hendon Aerodrome, which later became RAF Hendon, and established the Grahame-White Aviation Company, which built several aircraft. In 1925, the RAF purchased the Hendon Aerodrome through a long legal battle. Grahame-White withdrew from aviation, later moving to Nice, France. He lived there until his death on August 19, 1959.

Citation:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Grahame-White

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

Paul Davis Early Aviation Photograph Collection

Collection — Folder 1

Identifier: 2002-07-23

Contents of the Collection The Paul Davis Early Aviation Photograph Collection is comprised of 16 black-and-white 3.25x4.5" photographs featuring early aircraft. The photographs were taken by an unidentified photographer in 1910 and 1911 in New York, including some during the 1910 Belmont International Aviation Meet. There are two copies of each photograph and nearly all include a brief handwritten caption on the reverse that provides some contextual information, such as date, names, aircraft model and/or...

Dates: 1910-1911

Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

Archives at The Museum of Flight