Morris Maxey Titterington (July 20, 1891 – July 11, 1928) was a pioneering aviator, and engineer.

Biography

Titterington was born in Paris, Texas

Paris, Texas

Paris, Texas is a city located northeast of the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex in Lamar County, Texas, in the United States. It is situated in Northeast Texas at the western edge of the Piney Woods. Physiographically, these regions are part of the West Gulf Coastal Plain. In 1900, 9,358 people lived...

, the son of George Titterington.

Titterington graduated from Bliss Electrical School in 1913. In 1914 he graduated from the Curtiss Flying School

Curtiss Flying School

left|thumb|A Curtiss Jenny on a training flightThe Curtiss Flying School was started by Glenn Curtiss to compete against the Wright Flying School of the Wright brothers...

. In 1918 he was working for the Sperry Gyroscope Corporation

Sperry Corporation

Sperry Corporation was a major American equipment and electronics company whose existence spanned more than seven decades of the twentieth century...

 and was living in Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

. He was included in the 1925 edition of Who's Who in American Aviation.

Titterington and Brice Herbert Goldsborough

Brice Herbert Goldsborough

Brice Herbert Goldsborough was an American aviation instrument designer at Sperry Gyroscope and later founded the Pioneer Instrument Company. He flew aboard the Spirit of St. Louis with Charles Lindbergh in two test flights...

 founded the Pioneer Instrument Company

Pioneer Instrument Company

The Pioneer Instrument Company was started by Morris Titterington and Brice Herbert Goldsborough in Brooklyn, New York in 1919. Charles H. Colvin was the president. They specialized in aeronautical instruments including a bubble sextant and the Earth Inductor Compass...

 in 1919. Titterington designed the Earth inductor compass

Earth Inductor Compass

The Earth inductor compass is a compass that determines directions using the principle of electromagnetic induction, with the Earth's magnetic field acting as the induction field for an electric generator. The electrical output of the generator will vary depending on its orientation with respect...

 in 1924.

In 1928 he took off in a Travel Air

Travel Air

The Travel Air Manufacturing Company was an aircraft manufacturer established in Wichita, Kansas in the United States in January 1925 by Clyde Cessna, Walter Beech, and Lloyd Stearman.-Company history:...

, headed across the Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 mountains and crashed to his death during bad weather after being struck by lightning.

Bernice Gamble Andrews

Bernice Gamble Andrews (1905-1928) died with him as his passenger. She was the beneficiary of his insurance policy, and she was the daughter of George A. Gamble of Williamsport, Pennsylvania

Williamsport, Pennsylvania

Williamsport is a city in and the county seat of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania in the United States. In 2009, the population was estimated at 29,304...

. She was previously married to Fred Andrews and had a son: Fred Andrews, Jr. She had worked in Hollywood as Patricia Perry.

Further reading

• New York Times; July 13, 1928. Titterington plane was hit by lightning; Witnesses Saw Machine Smoking Before It Fell With Inventor and Actress.
• Who's Who in American Aviation 1925
• Final Bliss Alumni Address, 1955