science · 17 January 1886 · 138 years ago
birth
Born 17 Jan 1886; died 4 Dec 1955 at age 69.
Glenn Luther Martin was an American aeronaut and inventor whose bombers and flying boats played important roles in WW II. His first planes were built in collaboration with mechanics from his auto shop, working in a disused church building that Martin rented. In 1909, Martin made his first successful flight; by 1911 he numbered among the most famous of the “pioneer birdmen.” He incorporated the Glenn L. Martin Aircraft Company in 1912 as a manufacturer, and remained for forty years the senior aircraft manufacturer in the U.S. The vast majority of the more than 11,000 planes built by the company before it ceased producing aircraft in 1960, Martin Bombers pioneered the doctrine of airpower in the 1920's to 1930's and served in all theaters in World War II.
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