Edson F. Gallaudet

Edson F. Gallaudet received his B.A. from Yale University and his PhD in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

He worked at Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company for a year. He then became an instructor of physics at Yale, where he taught and coached crew from 1897 to 1900.

Aviation Pioneer

Gallaudet was a pioneer in the field of aviation. He was the first person to experiment with warped wings in 1896 (2 years before the Wright Brothers).

In 1898, he built a warping-wing kite to test his invention. This kite survives and is part of the collection at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.

Gallaudet Engineering Company

In 1908, Gallaudet established the Gallaudet Engineering Company in Norwich. It is regarded as the first aircraft manufacturing company in the U. S.

The company developed and manufactured various types of aircraft including seaplanes for the U. S. Navy.

After Gallaudet retired in 1924, Major Reuben Fleet acquired the company. It became the core around which Fleet established Consolidated Aircraft Corporation.

Dangerous Crash

In 1912, Gallaudet narrowly escaped death while flying his monoplane, Willard II. Crashing during a test flight, he received a severe scalp wound, a deep cut on the chin and left eye, and severed an artery in his leg.

To learn more about Cedar Hill’s remarkable aviators, check out our Barnstormers & Aviators video.