Hubert Julian
Encyclopedia
Hubert Fauntleroy Julian (21 September 1897 – 19 February 1983) was a Trinidad
-born African American
aviation
pioneer. He was nicknamed "The Black Eagle".
, Trinidad in 1897, the son of a cocoa plantation manager. He migrated to Canada in 1914, where he claimed to have learned to pilot an aeroplane and served as a Lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Air Force
. In 1921 he patented the “Airplane Safety Appliance,” a combination parachute and propeller.
Hubert Julian emigrated from Montreal
to Harlem in 1921. His first flight above Harlem occurred during the 1922 Universal Negro Improvement Association
Convention, when he flew over the parade in a plane decorated with UNIA slogans. That flight led to his appointment as head of the organization’s new Aeronautical Department. He made his first parachute jump on September 3, 1922, at an airshow at Curtiss Field on Long Island
headlined by black pilot Bessie Coleman
. Several more jumps followed in the next year, at Curtiss Field and at Hasbrouk Heights, New Jersey
. During one jump in New Jersey in June 1923, Julian played “I’m Running Wild” on the saxophone
.
Julian's most famous parachute jumps were into Harlem itself. On April 29, 1923, Julian flew from an airfield in Hasbrouck Heights to Harlem, circled City College, dropping two noise bombs to attract residents’ attention. He then leaped from the plane, dressed in a bright red suit; the wind carried him away from his target, a vacant lot on 140th Street near Seventh Avenue
, to the roof of a tenement at 301 West 140th Street. A large crowd followed him, and, after a police officer charged him with disorderly conduct, they carried Julian to the UNIA’s Liberty Hall. Addressing the crowd, he spoke about aviation, promoted a parachute he had designed, and urged them to support A. I. Hart, a black-owned department store under threat from white competition. On November 5, 1923, Julian again flew to Harlem, planning to parachute into St Nicholas Park. On this occasion, wind carried him instead to the police station on West 123rd Street, as a huge crowd followed. After he became stuck between the station and the next building, two officers pulled him into the second floor.
In 1924, Julian shifted his focus from parachuting to piloting aeroplanes and raised funds to buy a seaplane
for a transatlantic flight
from New York to Liberia
. He named the plane Ethiopia I, decorated its tail with the red, black and green colors of the UNIA. On July 4, 1924, a crowd of thousands gathered on the banks of the Harlem River
at 139th Street to see Julian depart. His take-off was delayed for several hours when the owners of the plane appeared and declared Julian still owed them $1400. His supporters, with the help of UNIA members, eventually collected the money from the crowd. However, soon after Julian took off, one of the pontoon
s fell off the plane, and it crashed into Flushing Bay.
Julian twice more attempted to raise money to buy planes for flights across the Atlantic. In 1926, he planned a flight to Liberia with backing from a West Indian subsidiary of Standard Oil
, boxer Tiger Flowers
, and Elks Lodges, but it never took place. In 1928, Julian sought funds for a plane to make a round trip flight to Paris. This flight had the backing of State Senator Spencer Feld, but the response proved disappointing, and Feld abandoned the effort after six months.
Although Julian never succeeded in flying across the Atlantic, his efforts made him an international celebrity, and in 1931 Emperor Haile Selassie invited him to Ethiopia to take part in his coronation ceremonies. Julian impressed the Emperor with his skills as a parachutist, landing within a few feet of his throne during one ceremony, a feat that won him Ethiopian citizenship and a position in the nation's airforce. However, Julian had less success as a pilot, crashing the Emperor's favorite plane, after which he quickly returned to Harlem.
In 1931 he was the first flyer of African descent to fly coast to coast in the United States. Julian was one of several aviators in the 1920s and 1930s who competed in outdoing each other and briefly holding records for longest non-stop flights. In 1931, for example, Julian held the non-stop non-refueling aviation endurance record with a flight of 84 hours and 33 minutes. Julian flew a number of flights in and between the Americas, Europe, and Africa, surviving several crashes. In between major flights, he toured with a small all-Black flying circus which he headed, called The Five Blackbirds.
During the Italian
invasion of Ethiopia
in 1935, Julian flew to Ethiopia to aid in the defense of Selassie's government
. He was put in command of the Imperial Ethiopian Air Force
, which at the time consisted of 3 planes. Upon his return to the United States, he was temporarily detained at Ellis Island
, over the question of his nationality — British or Ethiopian. Later, after getting into a public fist-fight with fellow African-American aviator John C. Robinson, Julian was ordered to leave the country.
Julian also invented some safety devices used in airplanes.
In 1939, Julian was the producer for the motion picture Lying Lips, directed by Oscar Micheaux
.
After the United States entered World War II
, Julian volunteered to train for combat with the 99th Pursuit squadron, the famous Tuskegee Airmen
. He was remembered as a colorful character who wore a non-regulation Colonel's uniform, despite not holding that rank in the United States Army Air Force, and was discharged before graduation.
From the 1920s through the 1940s, Julian lived in Harlem and continued receiving press as a local celebrity.
According to the historian Carleton Mabee, "Among those who piloted planes for Father Divine
were... Colonel Hubert Julian, a former Garveyite
, who was famous for having regularly piloted a plane for Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia. Julian was flamboyant. He made himself conspicuous by doing aerial stunts over Harlem. While unwilling to follow all of Divine's teachings, Julian nonetheless identified with Divine and gave flying lessons to Divine followers."
A series of articles entitled "Black Eagle" was serialized in the African-American New York Amsterdam News newspaper c. 1937 -1938.
In 1965 a biography of Julian entitled Black Eagle was published by The Adventurers Club in London
; another biography of the aviator with the same title written by John Peer Nugent was published in 1971 by Stein and Day
in New York
.
The 14 November 1974 issue of Jet Magazine briefly mentions Julian, saying he was then 77 years of age, and was making plans to rescue Haile Selassie, then believed to be held prisoner by the new government of Ethiopia.
Hubert Fauntleroy Julian died in the borough of the Bronx, New York City, in February 1983. He is buried at the Calverton National Cemetery
in Suffolk County, New York
. His passing went largely unnoticed.
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
-born African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
aviation
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
pioneer. He was nicknamed "The Black Eagle".
Biography
Hubert Julian was born in Port of SpainPort of Spain
Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...
, Trinidad in 1897, the son of a cocoa plantation manager. He migrated to Canada in 1914, where he claimed to have learned to pilot an aeroplane and served as a Lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
. In 1921 he patented the “Airplane Safety Appliance,” a combination parachute and propeller.
Hubert Julian emigrated from Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
to Harlem in 1921. His first flight above Harlem occurred during the 1922 Universal Negro Improvement Association
Unia
Unia , released on May 25, 2007, is the fifth full-length studio album by the power metal band Sonata Arctica, following the album Reckoning Night. The first single from the album was "Paid in Full", released on April 27, 2007. The album has more progressive metal styles than their previous work...
Convention, when he flew over the parade in a plane decorated with UNIA slogans. That flight led to his appointment as head of the organization’s new Aeronautical Department. He made his first parachute jump on September 3, 1922, at an airshow at Curtiss Field on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
headlined by black pilot Bessie Coleman
Bessie Coleman
Elizabeth “Bessie” Coleman was an American civil aviator. She was the first female pilot of African American descent and the first person of African American descent to hold an international pilot license.-Early life:...
. Several more jumps followed in the next year, at Curtiss Field and at Hasbrouk Heights, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. During one jump in New Jersey in June 1923, Julian played “I’m Running Wild” on the saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
.
Julian's most famous parachute jumps were into Harlem itself. On April 29, 1923, Julian flew from an airfield in Hasbrouck Heights to Harlem, circled City College, dropping two noise bombs to attract residents’ attention. He then leaped from the plane, dressed in a bright red suit; the wind carried him away from his target, a vacant lot on 140th Street near Seventh Avenue
Seventh Avenue
-Streets and transportation:* Seventh Avenue , a street in Manhattan, New York City, New York* Seventh Avenue, Newark, New Jersey, a neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey...
, to the roof of a tenement at 301 West 140th Street. A large crowd followed him, and, after a police officer charged him with disorderly conduct, they carried Julian to the UNIA’s Liberty Hall. Addressing the crowd, he spoke about aviation, promoted a parachute he had designed, and urged them to support A. I. Hart, a black-owned department store under threat from white competition. On November 5, 1923, Julian again flew to Harlem, planning to parachute into St Nicholas Park. On this occasion, wind carried him instead to the police station on West 123rd Street, as a huge crowd followed. After he became stuck between the station and the next building, two officers pulled him into the second floor.
In 1924, Julian shifted his focus from parachuting to piloting aeroplanes and raised funds to buy a seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
for a transatlantic flight
Transatlantic flight
Transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean. A transatlantic flight may proceed east-to-west, originating in Europe or Africa and terminating in North America or South America, or it may go in the reverse direction, west-to-east...
from New York to Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
. He named the plane Ethiopia I, decorated its tail with the red, black and green colors of the UNIA. On July 4, 1924, a crowd of thousands gathered on the banks of the Harlem River
Harlem River
The Harlem River is a navigable tidal strait in New York City, USA that flows 8 miles between the Hudson River and the East River, separating the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx...
at 139th Street to see Julian depart. His take-off was delayed for several hours when the owners of the plane appeared and declared Julian still owed them $1400. His supporters, with the help of UNIA members, eventually collected the money from the crowd. However, soon after Julian took off, one of the pontoon
Pontoon
Pontoon may refer to:* Float , an air-filled structure providing buoyancy* Pontoon , the Australian/Malaysian casino game* Pontoon , a chiefly British version of the card game blackjack...
s fell off the plane, and it crashed into Flushing Bay.
Julian twice more attempted to raise money to buy planes for flights across the Atlantic. In 1926, he planned a flight to Liberia with backing from a West Indian subsidiary of Standard Oil
Standard Oil
Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
, boxer Tiger Flowers
Tiger Flowers
Theodore Flowers became the first African-American middleweight boxing champion, defeating Harry Greb in 1926. Known as "Tiger", he began boxing professionally in 1918 at the age of 23 while working at a Philadelphia shipbuilding plant...
, and Elks Lodges, but it never took place. In 1928, Julian sought funds for a plane to make a round trip flight to Paris. This flight had the backing of State Senator Spencer Feld, but the response proved disappointing, and Feld abandoned the effort after six months.
Although Julian never succeeded in flying across the Atlantic, his efforts made him an international celebrity, and in 1931 Emperor Haile Selassie invited him to Ethiopia to take part in his coronation ceremonies. Julian impressed the Emperor with his skills as a parachutist, landing within a few feet of his throne during one ceremony, a feat that won him Ethiopian citizenship and a position in the nation's airforce. However, Julian had less success as a pilot, crashing the Emperor's favorite plane, after which he quickly returned to Harlem.
In 1931 he was the first flyer of African descent to fly coast to coast in the United States. Julian was one of several aviators in the 1920s and 1930s who competed in outdoing each other and briefly holding records for longest non-stop flights. In 1931, for example, Julian held the non-stop non-refueling aviation endurance record with a flight of 84 hours and 33 minutes. Julian flew a number of flights in and between the Americas, Europe, and Africa, surviving several crashes. In between major flights, he toured with a small all-Black flying circus which he headed, called The Five Blackbirds.
During the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
invasion of Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
in 1935, Julian flew to Ethiopia to aid in the defense of Selassie's government
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
The Second Italo–Abyssinian War was a colonial war that started in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war was fought between the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy and the armed forces of the Ethiopian Empire...
. He was put in command of the Imperial Ethiopian Air Force
Ethiopian Air Force
The Ethiopian Air Force is the air arm of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces and is tasked with protecting the air space, providing support to the ground forces as well as assisting during national emergencies.- Early years :...
, which at the time consisted of 3 planes. Upon his return to the United States, he was temporarily detained at Ellis Island
Ellis Island
Ellis Island in New York Harbor was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States. It was the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with landfill between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the...
, over the question of his nationality — British or Ethiopian. Later, after getting into a public fist-fight with fellow African-American aviator John C. Robinson, Julian was ordered to leave the country.
Julian also invented some safety devices used in airplanes.
In 1939, Julian was the producer for the motion picture Lying Lips, directed by Oscar Micheaux
Oscar Micheaux
Oscar Devereaux Micheaux was an American author, film director and independent producer of more than 44 films...
.
After the United States entered World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Julian volunteered to train for combat with the 99th Pursuit squadron, the famous Tuskegee Airmen
Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of a group of African American pilots who fought in World War II. Formally, they were the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps....
. He was remembered as a colorful character who wore a non-regulation Colonel's uniform, despite not holding that rank in the United States Army Air Force, and was discharged before graduation.
From the 1920s through the 1940s, Julian lived in Harlem and continued receiving press as a local celebrity.
According to the historian Carleton Mabee, "Among those who piloted planes for Father Divine
Father Divine
Father Divine , also known as Reverend M. J. Divine, was an African American spiritual leader from about 1907 until his death. His full self-given name was Reverend Major Jealous Divine, and he was also known as "the Messenger" early in his life...
were... Colonel Hubert Julian, a former Garveyite
Marcus Garvey
Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr., ONH was a Jamaican publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator who was a staunch proponent of the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements, to which end he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League...
, who was famous for having regularly piloted a plane for Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia. Julian was flamboyant. He made himself conspicuous by doing aerial stunts over Harlem. While unwilling to follow all of Divine's teachings, Julian nonetheless identified with Divine and gave flying lessons to Divine followers."
A series of articles entitled "Black Eagle" was serialized in the African-American New York Amsterdam News newspaper c. 1937 -1938.
In 1965 a biography of Julian entitled Black Eagle was published by The Adventurers Club in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
; another biography of the aviator with the same title written by John Peer Nugent was published in 1971 by Stein and Day
Stein and Day
Stein and Day, Inc. was an American publishing company founded by Sol Stein and his wife Patricia Day in 1962. Stein was both the publisher and the editor-in-chief...
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
The 14 November 1974 issue of Jet Magazine briefly mentions Julian, saying he was then 77 years of age, and was making plans to rescue Haile Selassie, then believed to be held prisoner by the new government of Ethiopia.
Hubert Fauntleroy Julian died in the borough of the Bronx, New York City, in February 1983. He is buried at the Calverton National Cemetery
Calverton National Cemetery
Calverton National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in eastern Long Island, the hamlet of Wading River, the Town of Riverhead in Suffolk County, New York...
in Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York on the eastern portion of Long Island. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,493,350. It was named for the county of Suffolk in England, from which its earliest settlers came...
. His passing went largely unnoticed.
Further reading
Subscription needed.- Shaftel, David. "The Black Eagle of Harlem: The truth behind the tall tales of Hubert Fauntleroy Julian", Air & Space Magazine, January 01, 2009
- Snider, Jill. "Great Shadow in the Sky: The Airplane in the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 and the Development of African American Visions of Aviation, 1921-1926," in The Airplane in American Culture, ed Dominick Pisano (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press 2003), 105-146
- White, Shane, Stephen Garton, Stephen Robertson and Graham White. "The Black Eagle of Harlem". In Beyond Blackface: African Americans and the Creation of American Popular Culture, 1890-1930, ed. Fitzhugh Brundage (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2011)