science · 27 February 1906 · 119 years ago
death
Died 27 Feb 1906 at age 71 (born 22 Aug 1834).
American astronomer, physicist and aeronaut who built the first heavier-than-air flying machine to achieve sustained flight. He launched his Aerodrome No.5 on 6 May 1896 using a spring-actuated catapult mounted on top of a houseboat on the Potomac River, near Quantico, Virginia. He also researched the relationship of solar phenomena to meteorology.