Glenn Curtiss

Glenn Curtiss
Glenn Curtiss c. 1909
Born	Glenn Hammond Curtiss May 21, 1878 Hammondsport, New York, US
Died	July 23, 1930(1930-07-23) (aged 52) Buffalo, New York, US
Occupation(s)	Aviator Company director
Known for	Bicycle racing Motorcycle racing Air racing Naval aviation Flying boats Transatlantic flight Founder of the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company
Spouse	Lena Pearl Neff (March 7, 1898 – until his death)
Children	2

Glenn Hammond Curtiss (May 21, 1878 – July 23, 1930) was an American aviation and motorcycling pioneer, and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle racer and builder before moving on to motorcycles. As early as 1904, he began to manufacture engines for airships. In 1908, Curtiss joined the Aerial Experiment Association, a pioneering research group, founded by Alexander Graham Bell at Beinn Bhreagh, Nova Scotia, to build flying machines.

Curtiss won a race at the world's first international air meet in France and made the first long-distance flight in the U.S. His contributions in designing and building aircraft led to the formation of the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, which later merged into the Curtiss-Wright Corporation. His company built aircraft for the U.S. Army and Navy, and, during the years leading up to World War I, his experiments with seaplanes led to advances in naval aviation. Curtiss civil and military aircraft were some of the most important types in the interwar and World War II eras.