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From the Flying Pioneers Biographies of Harold E. Morehouse

Frithiof G. Ericson
Pioneer Benoist and Curtiss Engineer - Pilot

Frithiof G. Ericson was born in Stockholm, Sweden, July 24th, 1880. He studied at technical schools in Sweden, Denmark and Germany, then became engaged in automotive engineering from 1899 to 1909.
In 1909 he left Sweden and for a time was in both England and France, then came to the United States where he was employed in the automobile industry.
While so employed he became interested in aviation and left the automobile game to go with the Benoist Aeroplane Company in St. Louis Missouri in 1913. There he met and be-came close friends of the Jennus brothers. The brothers left Benoist in 1914 with the two Benoist flying boats to go into business for themselves and Ericson joined them. THey formed the Jennus Brothers Company in Baltimore, Maryland to operate a flying school, continue exhibition work and planned to build a new flying boat to their own design. There during the latter part of the year Rodge Jannus taught Ericson to fly on a Benoist boat and Ericson started the design of a new Jannus flying boat. With both Tony and Rodger Jannus away much of the time on flying assignments through that fall and winter Ericson completed the design of the new boat and supervised its construction. 
As a first class designer-engineer with considerable experience on motorboats, automobiles and engines Ericson did a fine jon on the new Jannus flying boat and