Curtiss, Glenn Hammond, 1878-1930

Person

Staff Only

Dates

Existence: 1878 - 1930

Biographical Note

Glenn Hammond Curtiss was born on May 21, 1878 in Hammondsport, New York. He was an pioneer in the fields of motorcycling and aviation. Curtiss began manufacturing airship engines in 1904 and in 1908 he joined the Aerial Experiment Association, a research group that united to build flying machines. He bought the rights to flying machine Aerodrome #3 from the group and this was the basis for the Curtiss No. 1.

He received his pilot's license on June 8, 1911. Curtiss had many firsts, including the first long-distance flight in the United States. His contributions in designing and building aircraft led to the formation of the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, now part of Curtiss-Wright Corporation.

Glenn Curtiss died on July 23, 1930, due to complications from an appendectomy.

Found in 15 Collections and/or Records:

James H. Smith Aviation Photograph Collection

Collection

Identifier: 2023-06-20

Overview

James Hamilton Smith (1913-2002) attended the Boeing School of Aeronautics and worked in the field of aviation as a government contractor for the Boeing Company, as well as the Defense Contract Administration Services. This small collection consists primarily of black-and-white photographs that were either taken or collected by Smith during his time at the Boeing School, as well as throughout his career in aviation, which spanned from the early 1930s to the late 1960s.

Dates: 1928-1965

Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

Orville Wright Letter

Collection

Identifier: 2018-10-01-D

Abstract

4-page typed letter signed on Wright Company letterhead, dated April 7, 1915, to Frederick Eppelsheimer of the New York Herald, discussing the possibility of using a pendulum to stabilize aircraft, mentioning the death of his brother Wilbur, and referencing fellow aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss. Accompanied by a small matte-finish portrait of Eppelsheimer, dated 1918.

Dates: 1915 April 7

Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

[John Porte, Glenn Curtiss, and unidentified man with Curtiss Model H "America" aircraft], circa 1910

Item — Box Glass plates box 1, item: 048

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: circa 1910

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

Langley in flight, circa 1900s-1910s

File — Multiple Containers

Scope and Contents From the Record Group: The Early Aviation Photograph Collection is a collection of unknown origins consisting of 328 black-and-white photographic prints and 299 negatives primarily depicting aircraft from the first half of the 20th century. Some airships, airports, pilots, and other subjects are also depicted in the photographs. The collection is arranged into two series: Airplane photographs and Non-airplane photographs. The first series, Airplane Photographs, makes up the bulk of the collection with...

Dates: circa 1900s-1910s

Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives / Early Aviation Photograph Collection / Non-airplane photographs

"White Wing / Herring, Baldwin, Curtiss, Beach, McCurdy, Hawley", circa 1907-1909

Item — Box Glass plates box 1, item: 027

Dates: circa 1907-1909