Samuel Pierpont Langley (1834-1906), American astronomer and aviation pioneer. Langley was born in Massachusetts and went on to become Secretary of th
Samuel Pierpont Langley (1834-1906), American astronomer and aviation pioneer. Langley was born in Massachusetts and went on to become Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution (1887). Between 1891 and 1896, Langley built many aircraft models, trying to solve the power-to-weight problem that prevented his 'aerodromes' from flying. Finally, he produced a steam-driven model that flew for nearly a mile. This convinced him, in 1903, to attempt to fly a full-scale version of the Langley Aerodrome. It was not a success. A second attempt was also a failure and Langley died in 1906, a broken man.
Size: 3626px × 4924px
Photo credit: © LIBRARY OF CONGRESS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: academic, adult, aerodrome, american, astronomical, astronomy, aviation, aviator, black--white, caucasian, dead, flight, human, institution, langley, male, man, manned, monochrome, people, person, physical, physics, pierpont, piloted, pioneer, portrait, power--weight, samuel, scientist, secretary, smithsonian, steam-powered, surname, unsuccessful
