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Walter Wellman, Pioneer Of Dirigible Flights, Dies Made First Attempt to Span Atlantic in Queer Gas Bag New York.-Walter Wellman, 75, explorer, journalist and inventor, whose dirigible flight in the Atlantic in 1910 was the first serious attempt to link the United States and Europe by air, died Wednesday, (Jan, 31, 1934) Wellman's dash over the Atlantic City on Oct. 15, 1910, ended three days and nights later, when his dirigible, the America, was beaten down t sea. He and five companions put off in the lifeboat. The part was picked up by the steamship Trent, 375 miles east of Cape Hatteras, three days later. Their flight was the sensation of the decade. In their crude airship Wellman and his crew had covered 1,010 miles, a new world record for dirigibles in distance and time aloft. Wellman prepared for his Atlantic crossing attempt by two previous dirigible expeditions into polar regions. The airship in which he and his companions soared away from the Atlantic City evoked the ridicule of many. Compared with the Graf Zeppelin, the Macon and the Los Angeles of the present day, it was a queer-looking aircraft. Airman Dies [[image]] Walter Wellman Wellman Brother, Nephews Live Here Three Madison men are relatives of Walter Wellman, airman and explorer, who died Wednesday in New York. A. W. Welman, 949 Spaight st., now spending the winter in Florida, is a brother of the famous balloonist, while L.A. Wellman, 904 Spaight st., and Walter Wellman, 1204 E. Johnson st., are nephews. Over 20 years ago, A. W. Wellman managed his famous brother's expedition, which was the first to use a dirigible balloon in an attempt to reach the North pole.