Tony Jannus
Encyclopedia
Antony Habersack Jannus, more familiarly known as Tony Jannus (July 22, 1889 – October 12, 1916), was an early American pilot
whose aerial exploits were widely publicized in aviation's pre-World War I period. He flew the first airplane from which a parachute jump was made, in 1912. Jannus was also the first airline pilot, having pioneered the inaugural flight of the St. Petersburg Tampa Airboat Line on January 1, 1914, the first scheduled commercial airline flight in the world using heavier-than-air aircraft. The Tony Jannus Award
, created to perpetuate his legacy, recognizes outstanding individual achievement in the scheduled commercial aviation industry and is conferred annually by the Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society founded in Tampa, Florida
, in 1963.
, where his father Frankland Jannus was a patent
attorney and his grandfather, Roger C. Weightman
, had previously been mayor (1824–1827). By 1910, the 21-year old young man was employed as a boat engine mechanic. He became interested in flying when he saw an airshow in Baltimore, Maryland, in November, 1910, and began flight training that year at College Park Airport
in Maryland. In 1911, Jannus was the first pilot to fly the Lord Baltimore II, an amphibious airplane built in Baltimore, from the city's Curtis Bay
. His older brother, Roger Weightman Jannus (1886-1918), also learned to fly and both brothers became test pilots for airplane builder Thomas W. Benoist
in St. Louis, Missouri
, in late 1911.
On March 1, 1912, Tony Jannus piloted a Benoist biplane
when Albert Berry made the first parachute
jump from a moving airplane near St. Louis. Later that year, Jannus set a 1900 miles (3,058 km) overwater flight record following the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers from Omaha, Nebraska, to New Orleans in a Benoist Land Tractor Type XII
mounted with floats.
The next year, Jannus participated in a New York Times
-sponsored air exhibition. He flew actress Julia Bruns
in a Baldwin Red Devil
4,000 ft above Staten Island
for twenty minutes on October 12, 1913. The next day, he flew in an air race over Manhattan, the Times reporting that "The graceful Benoist biplane
sailed along on an even keel...driven by the famous Tony Jannus". Jannus described flying as, "...poetry of mechanical motion, a fascinating sensation of speed, an abstraction from things material into an infinite space." The following month, he moved to St. Petersburg, Florida
. On 15 October, Jannus crashed on take off while setting off to search for Albert Jewell
, an aviator who had disappeared over off southern Long Island
while flying to join the race on 13 October; Jannus was unhurt in the crash, though the airplane was written off.
, to St. Petersburg
, located on a then-isolated peninsula, required a slow steamboat trip across Tampa Bay or a circuitous, three-hour journey by railroad. A bumpy automobile or horse and buggy
ride took several hours over primitive, unpaved roads. The airplane at the time was a rare novelty, lacking any practical application. Impressed by the record-setting overwater flight made by Jannus in 1912, Florida businessman Percival Fansler approached some St. Petersburg businessmen the next year with a proposal to use Benoist flying boats for "a real commercial line" over open water between the two cities.. Convinced by Fansler's plan, several St. Petersburg community leaders, led by L. A. Whitney of the local chamber of commerce and Noel Mitchell, agreed to provide financial support for the creation of an airline service to connect the two cities. A 90-day contract with Benoist was signed on December 17, 1913 (the 10th anniversary of Wilbur and Orville Wright
's historic first airplane flight), to provide airplanes and crew for two daily round trips across Tampa Bay, dubbed the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line
— the world's first scheduled airline.
Fansler told the St. Petersburg Times
: "The St. Petersburg waterfront is an ideal place for starting and landing as the trip to and from Tampa will be one of the most beautiful in the country. Skimming a few feet above the surface of the water... with the purr of a 75 h.p. engine and the whirring of a propeller turning several hundred times a minute, the rush of the cool salt air and the shimmering sunlight on Tampa Bay — no trip could be more enjoyable.".
Departing from a location on January 1, 1914, near the downtown St. Petersburg Municipal Pier on Second Avenue North, Jannus piloted the twenty-three minute inaugural flight of the pioneer airline's Benoist XIV
flying boat biplane. A crowd of 3,000 gathered at the pier to watch the history-making takeoff at 10 a.m. and were told by Fansler that "What was impossible yesterday is an accomplishment today, while tomorrow heralds the unbelieveable". Then-mayor of St. Petersburg, Abram C. Pheil was a passenger on the inaugural flight. At a fare of five dollars, it was the first time tickets were sold to the general public for point-to-point scheduled air travel. The Benoist reportedly reached a maximum speed of 75 miles per hour (34 m/s) during the flight, according to a United Press
account. Other reports indicate that Jannus flew over the Bay at an altitude
of less than 50 feet (15 m). Upon the airboat's arrival in Tampa, the Tampa Tribune
reported, "a crowd of two thousand was waiting...Messrs. Jannus and Pheil bowed and smiled". Thereafter, flights departed St. Petersburg daily except Sundays at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.. Return flights left Tampa at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
. In July, 1915, Jannus successfully flew the prototype Curtiss JN-3
, forerunner of the JN-4 "Jenny" of World War I fame. On October 1, 1915, he was sent by Glenn Curtiss
to Russia as the company's test pilot and trainer of Russian pilots flying Curtiss airplanes in combat during World War I.
(then part of Czarist Russia
) when his plane, a Curtiss H-7
he was using to train Russian pilots, had engine problems and crashed into the Black Sea
, killing Jannus and his two-man Russian crew. His body was never recovered.
The Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society founded in 1963, perpetuates the memory of Jannus as the first commercial airline pilot, by annually conferring the Tony Jannus Award for outstanding achievement in scheduled air transportation. Past recipients of the award include such luminaries as Eddie Rickenbacker
, Donald Douglas
, Jimmy Doolittle
, C. R. Smith
(the founder of American Airlines
), William A. Patterson
(president of United Airlines
1934–1966), and Chuck Yeager
. Those so honored are enshrined at the St. Petersburg Museum of History's Tony Jannus exhibit.
An operational replica of the Benoist Model XIV airplane flew across Tampa Bay in a 75th anniversary re-enactment of Jannus' flight, on January 1, 1989. It is now exhibited at the St. Petersburg Museum of History at the St. Petersburg Pier, approximately 100 yards from the site of the inaugural flight. On January 29, 2011, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
dedicated an historic site plaque on the museum's grounds, commemorating the site of the world’s first regularly scheduled airline. The birth of the commercial air transportation industry is also commemorated by another replica of the Benoist airplane at the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport
's baggage claim area in the terminal and a Tony Jannus Award exhibit at Tampa International Airport
.
On December 17, 2006, Jannus was posthumously inducted into the Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine at the Wright Brothers National Memorial
at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
, joining other honorees such as Wilbur and Orville Wright
, Charles Lindbergh
, Amelia Earhart
, and Chuck Yeager, who have shaped the aviation industry.
The St. Petersburg concert venue Jannus Landing
is named for him.
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
whose aerial exploits were widely publicized in aviation's pre-World War I period. He flew the first airplane from which a parachute jump was made, in 1912. Jannus was also the first airline pilot, having pioneered the inaugural flight of the St. Petersburg Tampa Airboat Line on January 1, 1914, the first scheduled commercial airline flight in the world using heavier-than-air aircraft. The Tony Jannus Award
Tony Jannus Award
The Tony Jannus Award recognizes outstanding individual achievement in scheduled commercial aviation by airline executives, inventors and manufacturers, and government leaders. The award is conferred annually by the Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society and was first bestowed in 1964 in Tampa,...
, created to perpetuate his legacy, recognizes outstanding individual achievement in the scheduled commercial aviation industry and is conferred annually by the Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society founded in Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
, in 1963.
Early years
Jannus was born in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, where his father Frankland Jannus was a patent
attorney and his grandfather, Roger C. Weightman
Roger C. Weightman
Roger Chew Weightman was an American politician, civic leader, and printer. He was the mayor of Washington, D.C. from 1824 to 1827....
, had previously been mayor (1824–1827). By 1910, the 21-year old young man was employed as a boat engine mechanic. He became interested in flying when he saw an airshow in Baltimore, Maryland, in November, 1910, and began flight training that year at College Park Airport
College Park Airport
College Park Airport is a public airport located in the City of College Park, in Prince Georges County, Maryland, USA. It is the world's oldest continuously operated airport.-History:...
in Maryland. In 1911, Jannus was the first pilot to fly the Lord Baltimore II, an amphibious airplane built in Baltimore, from the city's Curtis Bay
Patapsco River
The Patapsco River is a river in central Maryland which flows into Chesapeake Bay. The river's tidal portion forms the harbor for the city of Baltimore...
. His older brother, Roger Weightman Jannus (1886-1918), also learned to fly and both brothers became test pilots for airplane builder Thomas W. Benoist
Thomas W. Benoist
Thomas W. Benoist was an American pilot who started the first scheduled aircraft service.- Early life :In 1907 Benoist founded Aeronautic Supply Company with his brother becoming the first aircraft parts distributor. Benoist's first flight was at the Kinloch Park Aero Club field in Kinloch,...
in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, in late 1911.
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
when Albert Berry made the first parachute
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...
jump from a moving airplane near St. Louis. Later that year, Jannus set a 1900 miles (3,058 km) overwater flight record following the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers from Omaha, Nebraska, to New Orleans in a Benoist Land Tractor Type XII
Benoist Land Tractor Type XII
|-See also:...
mounted with floats.
The next year, Jannus participated in a New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
-sponsored air exhibition. He flew actress Julia Bruns
Julia Bruns
Julia Eliza Bruns was a stage andsilent film actress from St. Louis, Missouri. Once called the most beautiful girl in the world, she eventually succumbed to alcoholism and drug addiction and died at 32....
in a Baldwin Red Devil
Baldwin Red Devil
The Baldwin Red Devil was a series of early pusher configuration aircraft employing steel tube construction. The aircraft were designed by Thomas Scott Baldwin, an early pioneer of airships.-Development:...
4,000 ft above Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
for twenty minutes on October 12, 1913. The next day, he flew in an air race over Manhattan, the Times reporting that "The graceful Benoist biplane
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
sailed along on an even keel...driven by the famous Tony Jannus". Jannus described flying as, "...poetry of mechanical motion, a fascinating sensation of speed, an abstraction from things material into an infinite space." The following month, he moved to St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
. On 15 October, Jannus crashed on take off while setting off to search for Albert Jewell
Albert Jewell
Albert Jewell was an early US aviator who disappeared off Long Island, New York, on October 13, 1913, en route to Oakwood, Staten Island, in order to take part in the New York Times American Aerial Derby. No confirmed trace of Jewell or his aircraft was ever recovered...
, an aviator who had disappeared over off southern 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...
while flying to join the race on 13 October; Jannus was unhurt in the crash, though the airplane was written off.
First scheduled airline flight
Prior to 1914, travel from Tampa, FloridaTampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
, to St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
, located on a then-isolated peninsula, required a slow steamboat trip across Tampa Bay or a circuitous, three-hour journey by railroad. A bumpy automobile or horse and buggy
Horse and buggy
A horse and buggy or horse and carriage refers to a light, simple, two-person carriage of the late 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, drawn usually by one or sometimes by two horses...
ride took several hours over primitive, unpaved roads. The airplane at the time was a rare novelty, lacking any practical application. Impressed by the record-setting overwater flight made by Jannus in 1912, Florida businessman Percival Fansler approached some St. Petersburg businessmen the next year with a proposal to use Benoist flying boats for "a real commercial line" over open water between the two cities.. Convinced by Fansler's plan, several St. Petersburg community leaders, led by L. A. Whitney of the local chamber of commerce and Noel Mitchell, agreed to provide financial support for the creation of an airline service to connect the two cities. A 90-day contract with Benoist was signed on December 17, 1913 (the 10th anniversary of Wilbur and Orville Wright
Wright brothers
The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903...
's historic first airplane flight), to provide airplanes and crew for two daily round trips across Tampa Bay, dubbed the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line
St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line
The St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line was the first scheduled airline using a winged aircraft.The airline provided service between St. Petersburg, Florida and neighboring Tampa.-Overview:...
— the world's first scheduled airline.
St. Petersburg Times
The St. Petersburg Times is a United States newspaper. It is one of two major publications serving the Tampa Bay Area, the other being The Tampa Tribune, which the Times tops in both circulation and readership. Based in St...
: "The St. Petersburg waterfront is an ideal place for starting and landing as the trip to and from Tampa will be one of the most beautiful in the country. Skimming a few feet above the surface of the water... with the purr of a 75 h.p. engine and the whirring of a propeller turning several hundred times a minute, the rush of the cool salt air and the shimmering sunlight on Tampa Bay — no trip could be more enjoyable.".
Departing from a location on January 1, 1914, near the downtown St. Petersburg Municipal Pier on Second Avenue North, Jannus piloted the twenty-three minute inaugural flight of the pioneer airline's Benoist XIV
Benoist XIV
-References:* * * * Servis, Richard. "". Non Fiction Reader Magazine* from St Petersburg Museum of History executive director Will Michaels printed in the St Petersburg Times 2 February 2004.* -External links:* *...
flying boat biplane. A crowd of 3,000 gathered at the pier to watch the history-making takeoff at 10 a.m. and were told by Fansler that "What was impossible yesterday is an accomplishment today, while tomorrow heralds the unbelieveable". Then-mayor of St. Petersburg, Abram C. Pheil was a passenger on the inaugural flight. At a fare of five dollars, it was the first time tickets were sold to the general public for point-to-point scheduled air travel. The Benoist reportedly reached a maximum speed of 75 miles per hour (34 m/s) during the flight, according to a United Press
United Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
account. Other reports indicate that Jannus flew over the Bay at an altitude
Altitude
Altitude or height is defined based on the context in which it is used . As a general definition, altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The reference datum also often varies according to the context...
of less than 50 feet (15 m). Upon the airboat's arrival in Tampa, the Tampa Tribune
The Tampa Tribune
The Tampa Tribune, published in Tampa, Florida, is one of two major newspapers published in the Tampa Bay area, second in circulation and readership to the St. Petersburg Times. The paper's tagline is "Life...
reported, "a crowd of two thousand was waiting...Messrs. Jannus and Pheil bowed and smiled". Thereafter, flights departed St. Petersburg daily except Sundays at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.. Return flights left Tampa at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Curtiss test pilot
Following the end of the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line's scheduled service between the two Florida cities on March 31, 1914, Jannus left St. Petersburg and quit flying for Benoist, becoming a test pilot for Curtiss Aeroplane CompanyCurtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company
Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company was an American aircraft manufacturer that went public in 1916 with Glenn Hammond Curtiss as president. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the company was the largest aircraft manufacturer in the United States...
. In July, 1915, Jannus successfully flew the prototype Curtiss JN-3
Curtiss JN-4
The Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" was one of a series of "JN" biplanes built by the Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, New York, later the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. Although the Curtiss JN series was originally produced as a training aircraft for the U.S...
, forerunner of the JN-4 "Jenny" of World War I fame. On October 1, 1915, he was sent by Glenn Curtiss
Glenn Curtiss
Glenn Hammond Curtiss was an American aviation pioneer and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle then motorcycle builder and racer, later also manufacturing engines for airships as early as 1906...
to Russia as the company's test pilot and trainer of Russian pilots flying Curtiss airplanes in combat during World War I.
Death
Jannus died on October 12, 1916, near SevastopolSevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
(then part of Czarist Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
) when his plane, a Curtiss H-7
Curtiss Model H
The Curtiss Model H was a family of classes of early long-range flying boats, the first two of which were developed directly on commission in the United States in response to the ₤10,000 prize challenge issued in 1913 by the London newspaper, the Daily Mail, for the first non-stop aerial crossing...
he was using to train Russian pilots, had engine problems and crashed into the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
, killing Jannus and his two-man Russian crew. His body was never recovered.
Legacy
Eddie Rickenbacker
Edward Vernon Rickenbacker was an American fighter ace in World War I and Medal of Honor recipient. He was also a race car driver and automotive designer, a government consultant in military matters and a pioneer in air transportation, particularly as the longtime head of Eastern Air Lines.-Early...
, Donald Douglas
Donald Wills Douglas, Sr.
Donald Wills Douglas, Sr. was a United States aircraft industrialist and founder of the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1921 .-Early life:...
, Jimmy Doolittle
Jimmy Doolittle
General James Harold "Jimmy" Doolittle, USAF was an American aviation pioneer. Doolittle served as a brigadier general, major general and lieutenant general in the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War...
, C. R. Smith
C. R. Smith
Cyrus Rowlett Smith , known throughout his life as C. R. Smith, was the CEO of American Airlines from 1934 to 1968 and from 1973 to 1974. He was also United States Secretary of Commerce for a brief period under President Lyndon B...
(the founder of American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
), William A. Patterson
William A. Patterson
William A. "Pat" Patterson was the President of United Airlines from 1934 until 1966.Patterson was born on a sugar plantation in Waipahu on Oahu, Hawaii. When Patterson was 13, his widowed mother moved to San Francisco, California, while he remained at Honolulu Military Academy. Not liking the...
(president of United Airlines
United Airlines
United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
1934–1966), and Chuck Yeager
Chuck Yeager
Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager is a retired major general in the United States Air Force and noted test pilot. He was the first pilot to travel faster than sound...
. Those so honored are enshrined at the St. Petersburg Museum of History's Tony Jannus exhibit.
An operational replica of the Benoist Model XIV airplane flew across Tampa Bay in a 75th anniversary re-enactment of Jannus' flight, on January 1, 1989. It is now exhibited at the St. Petersburg Museum of History at the St. Petersburg Pier, approximately 100 yards from the site of the inaugural flight. On January 29, 2011, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics is the professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA was founded in 1963 from the merger of two earlier societies: the American Rocket Society , founded in 1930 as the American Interplanetary Society , and the Institute...
dedicated an historic site plaque on the museum's grounds, commemorating the site of the world’s first regularly scheduled airline. The birth of the commercial air transportation industry is also commemorated by another replica of the Benoist airplane at the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport
St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport
St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport is a joint civil-military airport located in unincorporated Pinellas County, Florida, north of St. Petersburg, serving St...
's baggage claim area in the terminal and a Tony Jannus Award exhibit at Tampa International Airport
Tampa International Airport
Tampa International Airport is a major public airport located six nautical miles west of the central business district of Tampa, in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. This airport is publicly owned by Hillsborough County Aviation Authority...
.
On December 17, 2006, Jannus was posthumously inducted into the Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine at the Wright Brothers National Memorial
Wright Brothers National Memorial
Wright Brothers National Memorial, located in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, commemorates the first successful, sustained, powered flights in a heavier-than-air machine. From 1900 to 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright came here from Dayton, Ohio, based on information from the U.S. Weather Bureau...
at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
Kitty Hawk is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,000 at the 2000 census. It was established in the early 18th century as Chickahawk....
, joining other honorees such as Wilbur and Orville Wright
Wright brothers
The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903...
, Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
, Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
, and Chuck Yeager, who have shaped the aviation industry.
The St. Petersburg concert venue Jannus Landing
Jannus Landing
Jannus Live is an open-air concert venue in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, named after Tony Jannus. It plays host to various acts, both nationally prominent and local....
is named for him.
Further reading
- Bickel, Karl A. - The Mangrove Coast, 1942 by Coward McCann, Inc., Fourth Edition in 1989 by Omni Print Media, Inc., p.265
External links
- Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society – official website
- Antony Jannus on EarlyAviators.com