Arthur Whitten Brown Lieutenant Colonel Sir Arthur Whitten Brown , ( 23 July 1886 – 4 October 1948 ) was the navigator of the first successful non - stop transatlantic flight . Biography . Arthur Whitten Brown was born in Glasgow to American parents ; his father had been sent to Scotland to evaluate the feasibility of siting a Westinghouse factory in Clydeside . The factory was eventually sited in Trafford Park in Stretford , Lancashire , and the family subsequently relocated there . Brown began his career in engineering before the outbreak of World War I and undertook an apprenticeship with British Westinghouse in Manchester . In 1914 , he enlisted in the ranks of the University and Public Schools Brigade ( UPS ) for which he had to take out British citizenship . The ranks of the UPS were full of potential officers and Brown was one of those who sought a commission to become a Second Lieutenant in the 3rd ( Special Reserve ) Battalion of the Manchester Regiment . After service in France , Brown was seconded to 2 Squadron Royal Flying Corps as an observer . Brown ' s aircraft was shot down by anti - aircraft fire over Vendin - le - Vieil in France while on artillery observation duties . He was sent back to England to recuperate but returned only to be shot down again , this time with a punctured fuel tank , near Bapaume in B . E . 2c ( number " 2673 " ) on a reconnaissance flight on 10 November 1915 . Brown and his pilot , 2nd Lt . H . W . Medlicott , were captured by the Germans . ( In June 1918 Medlicott was shot by the Germans while attempting to escape for the fourteenth time ) . Later interned in Switzerland , Brown was repatriated in September 1917 . After a period of leave he went to work with Major Kennedy RAF in the Ministry of Munitions . This led Brown to meet Kennedy ' s daughters , one of whom he later married . After the war Brown sought various appointments that would give him the security to allow him to marry . One of the firms he approached was Vickers , a consequence of which was that he was asked if he would be the navigator for the proposed transatlantic flight , partnering John Alcock , who had already been chosen as pilot . Transatlantic flight . The flight from St . John ' s , Newfoundland to Clifden , Connemara , Ireland took place on 14 June 1919 . They departed St John ' s at 1 . 45 pm local time , and landed in Derrygimla bog 16 hours and 12 minutes later after flying 1 , 980 miles ( 3 , 168 km ) . The flight was made in a modified Vickers Vimy bomber , and won a £10 , 000 prize offered by London ' s " Daily Mail " newspaper for the first non - stop flight across the Atlantic . A few days after the flight both Brown and Alcock were honoured with a reception at Windsor Castle during which King George V knight ed them and invested them with their insignia as Knight Commanders of the Order of the British Empire . Post flight career . Later he worked for Metropolitan - Vickers ( MetroVick ) , the company that had once been British Westinghouse . In 1923 he was appointed chief representative for Metropolitan - Vickers in the Swansea area . During World War II Brown served in the Home Guard as a Lieutenant - Colonel before resigning his commission in July 1941 , rejoining the RAF and working in RAF Training Command dealing with navigation . His health deteriorated and by mid - 1943 he had to resign from the RAFVR and give up his Air Training Corps commitments on medical advice . Brown ' s only son , Arthur ( known as Buster ) , was killed on the night of 5 / 6 June 1944 , aged 22 , while serving with the RAF as a Flight Lieutenant . His aircraft , a de Havilland Mosquito VI " NT122 " , of 605 Squadron , crashed in Holland . Buster was buried at Hoorn general cemetery . The death of his only son affected Brown badly . By 1948 Brown ’ s health had again deteriorated , although he was allowed to undertake restricted duties as general manager for Metropolitan - Vickers at the Wind Street offices . Brown died in his sleep on 4 October 1948 from an accidental overdose of Veronal , aged 62 . Kay , his wife , died in May 1952 , aged 56 . He is buried at St Margaret Churchyard , Tylers Green , Buckinghamshire , England .