Edson Fessenden Gallaudet
Encyclopedia
Edson Fessenden Gallaudet (April 21, 1871 – July 1, 1945) was a pioneer in the field of aviation, being the first person to experiment with warped wings in 1896. In 1898, he built a warping-wing kite to test his invention of a warping-wing mechanism; this kite survives and is on display in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. In 1911 he obtained US pilot's license #2 with the Aero Club of America, flying a Wright biplane in Garden City, New York. Also in 1911 he earned a pilot's brevet with the Aero Club of France flying a Nieuport monoplane.
Gallaudet was born in Washington DC to Edward Miner Gallaudet
, the son of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet
. Both his father and grandfather were famous educators in the field of deaf education. He received his B.A. from Yale University
in 1893 and his PhD
in Electrical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University
in 1896. He worked at Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1896 to 1897, then became an instructor of physics at Yale, where he taught from 1897 to 1900. From 1900 to 1903 he worked at William Cramp & Sons' Ship and Engine Building Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and then, in 1903, worked at the National Cash Register Company in Dayton, Ohio. He married Marion Cockrell on February 14, 1903. From 1903 to 1908 he worked as an assistant to the President and General Superintendent of the Stillwell Bierce & Smith Vaile Company in Dayton Ohio (which later became the Platt Iron Works Company). In 1908 he worked for the New England Refrigerator Company in Norwich, Connecticut. In 1908 he founded the Gallaudet Engineering Company in Norwich, Connecticut, where, as President, he did work as a mechanical and consulting engineer and, in 1909, built his first airplane. Gallaudet Engineering Company was incorporated as the Gallaudet Aircraft Corporation in 1917. As a student at Yale in the Class of 1893 he was a member of Psi Upsilon
and Skull and Bones
. He was an Associate Fellow with the Institute of the Aeronatical Sciences, Inc., a member of the America Society of Aeronautic Engineers Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, and a member of the Aero Club of America, Sigma X1, Engineers' Club (New York).
In 1924, Edson Gallaudet retired from the company he had founded. The company assets were acquired by Major Reuben Fleet, who used them as the core around which he founded Consolidated Aircraft Corporation.
Edson's brother, Herbert D. Gallaudet, graduated Yale in 1898 and his son, Edward D. Gallaudet, graduated Yale in 1924. Edson's mother, Susan Denison, was the daughter of Dr. Joseph Adam Denison, Jr and Eliza Skinner Denison of Royalton, Vermont. He died in 1945 in Pine Orchard, Connecticut and is buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford, Connecticut.
Gallaudet was born in Washington DC to Edward Miner Gallaudet
Edward Miner Gallaudet
Edward Miner Gallaudet , son of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Sophia Fowler Gallaudet, was a famous early educator of the deaf in Washington, DC...
, the son of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet
Reverend Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, LL.D., was a renowned American pioneer in the education of the Deaf. Along with Laurent Clerc and Mason Cogswell, he co-founded the first institution for the education of the Deaf in North America, and he became its first principal...
. Both his father and grandfather were famous educators in the field of deaf education. He received his B.A. from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1893 and his PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Electrical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
in 1896. He worked at Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1896 to 1897, then became an instructor of physics at Yale, where he taught from 1897 to 1900. From 1900 to 1903 he worked at William Cramp & Sons' Ship and Engine Building Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and then, in 1903, worked at the National Cash Register Company in Dayton, Ohio. He married Marion Cockrell on February 14, 1903. From 1903 to 1908 he worked as an assistant to the President and General Superintendent of the Stillwell Bierce & Smith Vaile Company in Dayton Ohio (which later became the Platt Iron Works Company). In 1908 he worked for the New England Refrigerator Company in Norwich, Connecticut. In 1908 he founded the Gallaudet Engineering Company in Norwich, Connecticut, where, as President, he did work as a mechanical and consulting engineer and, in 1909, built his first airplane. Gallaudet Engineering Company was incorporated as the Gallaudet Aircraft Corporation in 1917. As a student at Yale in the Class of 1893 he was a member of Psi Upsilon
Psi Upsilon
Psi Upsilon is the fifth oldest college fraternity in the United States, founded at Union College in 1833. It has chapters at colleges and universities throughout North America. For most of its history, Psi Upsilon, like most social fraternities, limited its membership to men only...
and Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is a traditional peer society to Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head, as the three senior class 'landed societies' at Yale....
. He was an Associate Fellow with the Institute of the Aeronatical Sciences, Inc., a member of the America Society of Aeronautic Engineers Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, and a member of the Aero Club of America, Sigma X1, Engineers' Club (New York).
In 1924, Edson Gallaudet retired from the company he had founded. The company assets were acquired by Major Reuben Fleet, who used them as the core around which he founded Consolidated Aircraft Corporation.
Edson's brother, Herbert D. Gallaudet, graduated Yale in 1898 and his son, Edward D. Gallaudet, graduated Yale in 1924. Edson's mother, Susan Denison, was the daughter of Dr. Joseph Adam Denison, Jr and Eliza Skinner Denison of Royalton, Vermont. He died in 1945 in Pine Orchard, Connecticut and is buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford, Connecticut.
Publications
- Gallaudet, Edson Fessenden. 1896. Relations between Length, Elasticity, and Magnetization of Iron and Nickel Wire. Washington, DC: Gibson Bros.
- Gallaudet, Edson F. 1920. The Gallaudet Review. East Greenwich: Gallaudet Aircraft Corp.
External links
- Edson Fessenden Gallaudet at www.flyingmachines.org
- Edson Gallaudet at aerospaceweb.org
- Edson F. Gallaudet at www.earlyaviators.com
- The First U.S. Aircraft Manufacturing Companies at www.centennialofflight.gov
- Early airplanes designed and built by Edson F. Gallaudet at web.archive.org
- Gallaudet at aerofiles.com
- Gallaudet Aircraft at 456fis.org