caption death_date image_size birth_date image article_title name
edson fessenden gallaudet , ca. 1892-1896 01 july 1945 161 × 210 21 april 1871 edson fessenden gallaudet.jpg edson fessenden gallaudet
 edson fessenden gallaudet
edson fessenden gallaudet

edson fessenden gallaudet -lrb- april 21 , 1871 -- july 1 , 1945 -rrb- was a pioneer in the field of aviation , being the first person to experiment with warped wings in 1896 .
in 1898 , he built a warping-wing kite to test his invention of a warping-wing mechanism ; this kite survives and is on display in the national air and space museum in washington , dc .
in 1911 he obtained us pilot 's license # 32 with the aero club of america , flying a wright biplane in garden city , new york .
also in 1911 he earned a pilot 's brevet with the aero club of france flying a nieuport monoplane .
gallaudet was born in washington , dc to edward miner gallaudet , the son of thomas hopkins gallaudet .
both his father and grandfather were famous educators in the field of deaf education .
he received his b.a. from yale university in 1893 and his ph.d in electrical engineering from johns hopkins university in 1896 .
he worked at westinghouse electric & manufacturing company in pittsburgh , pennsylvania from 1896 to 1897 , then became an instructor of physics at yale , where he taught from 1897 to 1900 .
from 1900 to 1903 he worked at william cramp & sons ' ship and engine building company in philadelphia , pennsylvania and then , in 1903 , worked at the national cash register company in dayton , ohio .
he married marion cockrell on february 14 , 1903 .
from 1903 to 1908 he worked as an assistant to the president and general superintendent of the stillwell bierce & smith vaile company in dayton -lrb- which later became the platt iron works company -rrb- .
in 1908 he worked for the new england refrigerator company in norwich , connecticut .
in 1908 he founded the gallaudet engineering company in norwich , where , as president , he did work as a mechanical and consulting engineer and , in 1909 , built his first airplane .
gallaudet engineering company was incorporated as the gallaudet aircraft corporation in 1917 .
as a student at yale in the class of 1893 he was a member of psi upsilon and skull and bones .
he was an associate fellow with the institute of the aeronatical sciences , inc. , a member of the american society of aeronautic engineers , fédération aéronautique internationale , and a member of the aero club of america , sigma x1 , engineers ' club -lrb- new york -rrb- .
he was a member of the connecticut academy of arts and sciences .
in 1923 , gallaudet built an all-metal aircraft which flew on june 20 , 1923 at wright field .
in 1924 , edson gallaudet retired from the company he had founded .
the company assets were acquired by major reuben fleet , who used them as the core around which he founded consolidated aircraft corporation .
edson 's wife marion cockrell , daughter of francis marion cockrell , launched uss missouri -lrb- bb-11 -rrb- .
edson 's brother , herbert d. gallaudet , graduated yale in 1898 and his son , edward d. gallaudet , graduated yale in 1924 .
edson 's mother , susan denison , was the daughter of dr. joseph adam denison , jr and eliza skinner denison of royalton , vermont .
he died in 1945 in pine orchard , connecticut and is buried in cedar hill cemetery in hartford , connecticut .
