Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Thomas DeWitt Milling Collection, NASM.XXXX.0133, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
This collection consists of 355 biographies written by Harold E. Morehouse and intended for publication. These biographies discuss Morehouse's fellow early aviation pioneers, many of whom belong to the Early Birds, an organization open to those who soloed before December 17, 1916. Each biography discusses the subject's life and the majority of biographies include a photograph of the individual.
Contents note:
The Harold E. Morehouse Flying Pioneers Biographies Collection (accession XXXX-0450) contains
approximately four cubic feet of material. It is also known as The Harold and Marvel Morehouse Aviation Pioneers
Collection. The collection includes photographs, negatives, and typewritten material.
Arrangement note:
Container List: Series I: Biographies of Flying Pioneers; Series II: Miscellaneous related materials; Series III: Oversized materials
Biographical note:
This collection consists of over 350 short biographies of early aviation's trailblazers written by Harold E. Morehouse (1894-1973). Conspicuous by its absence is a biography of the author, himself an innovator.
Born in Michigan, Morehouse channelled a youthful fascination with flight into training in the field of
mechanical engineering. He began work in 1915 for the Van Blerck Motor Company and assisted in their
development of aircraft engines. In 1917, Morehouse was working as a layout draftsman on the Standard J-1 Training Airplane for the Dayton-Wright Aeroplane Company. However, this assignment was quickly superseded by his placement on a secret project, supervised by C.F. Kettering and Orville Wright. Its aim was the production of a selfflying aerial torpedo which has since become known as the Kettering Bug. Morehouse contributed to all phases of this project, including its design, engine development and flight testing. The armistice arrived before the actual deployment of the Bug; Morehouse was to spend the next few years in engine design and development.
In 1925, Morehouse joined the Wright Aeronautical Corporation and both the Wright-Morehouse engine
and the Wright-Whirlwind J-5 (a re-design of the J-4) were developed here under Morehouse. The latter engine was later to serve as the powerplant for the historic 1927 trans-Atlantic flight of the Spirit of St. Louis and this was a great source of satisfaction to Morehouse. He left Wright Aero in 1929 and in subsequent years designed the inverted Rover for the Michigan Aero Engine Company, the A-50 for the Continental Motors Corporation and the Engineering and Research Corporation's Erco engine.
About ten years prior to his retirement in 1965, Harold Morehouse began work on a personal project. His
aim was to gather information on significant contributors to early aviation and distill this data to produce a set of
brief biographies of these innovative men and women. He was assisted in this by his wife, Marvel Dyer. After
Harold's death, Marvel worked in concert with Paul E. Garber of the National Air Museum to procure publication of
the work. Sadly, the passing of Marvel Dyer and later of Paul Garber seemed to bring plans for publication to a halt.
This collection consists of hundreds of biographical narratives concerning the lives of the "Flying
Pioneers." Many of those featured were members of the Early Birds of Aviation, Inc., a group whose members had
the distinction of having soloed prior to 1916. Most of the biographies are accompanied by one or more photographs of their subject and comprise an invaluable resource on the accomplishments and sacrifices of those intrepid individuals who forged the history of American aviation. However, it should be borne in mind that the biographies are based in large measure on personal interviews and are concerned primarily with their subjects' careers in aviation.
Other sources should be consulted to obtain a complete portrait.
Provenance:
Mr. and Mrs. Harold E. Morehouse, gift, 1960-1972, XXXX-0450, NASM
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Topics: Hattie's baptismal records. Aircraft. Houses. Family/Friends. Travels. George Weaver's activities. Aircraft register. Photostat documents.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
These are the original Aeronautics Branch, Department of Commerce (later Civil Aeronautics Administration and Federal Aviation Agency) aircraft registration files on sixteen (16) historically significant aircraft or pilots. Aircraft include the following: first aircraft registration issued; Curtiss Robin J NX9243 (Douglas Corrigan); Lockheed 10-E NR-16020 (Amelia Earhart); Travel Air Monoplane NX-869 (Woollaroc of Art Goebel); Hughes Flying Boat (HK-1) NX37602; Ryan NYP NX-211 (Charles Lindbergh); Lockheed 10-E NR-16059 (Dick Merrill); Cessna 180 N1538C (Jerry Mock); Lockheed Vega 5-C NR-105W (Wiley Post); Standard J-1 #249 (E. A. Ocklander); Laird LTR-14 NX263Y (Roscoe Turner); Wedell Williams 109 NR-61Y (Roscoe Turner). These files contain registration and license applications, modification documents, and correspondence relating to the aircraft. There are also pilot files on the following: James Doolittle, Douglas Corrigan and Charles Lindbergh.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Aeronautics Department, Transfer, 1990, 1990-0043, Public Domain
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Lindbergh, Charles A. (Charles Augustus), 1902-1974 Search this
Extent:
0.05 Cubic feet ((1 folder))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographic prints
Certificates
Date:
bulk 1925
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of one eight by ten inch black and white photograph of Charles Lindbergh in the Mil-Hi Airways Lincoln (Aircraft) Standard J-1; a small certificate agreement between The Mil-Hi Airways and Flying Circus of Denver, Colorado, and W.P. Johnson, stating that Johnson flew in an aircraft on 9/5/1925 with Charles Lindbergh; a blurb written by W. E. Branford, Manager of the Northern District of The Texas Company stating how Lindbergh used Texaco exclusively; and an article from the Arkansas Valley Journal, recounting Lindbergh flying at the Big Arkansas Valley Fair, September 1, 1925.
Biographical / Historical:
In the summer of 1925, Charles Lindbergh accepted a job offer to fly for the Mil-Hi Airways and Flying Circus in Denver, Colorado for 400 dollars a month. During that summer, Lindbergh traveled around eastern Colorado, flying and performing at various fairs and celebrations. In October of 1925, Lindbergh left barnstorming with Mil-Hi Airways and joined the airmail service.
Provenance:
Mark Gordon Sugarman, Gift, 2010
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
No restrictions. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by the Smithsonian Institution Archives. Contact SIA Reference Staff for further information (email photos@si.edu)
Data Source:
Smithsonian Institution Archives
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_arc_367101
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