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Edson F. Gallaudet
Early Wright Pilot - Engineer - Manufacturer

Edson F. Gallaudet was born in Washington, D.C., April 21, 1871, son of Dr. Edward M. Gallaudet, founder of Gallaudet College for the Deaf. He attended high school at Hartford, Connecticut, and graduated from Yale University with an A.B. degree in 1893. He was a member of the varsity crew for 1892-1893. He received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering at Johns Hopkins University in 1896, and was with Westinghouse Electric Company the balance of that year. In 1897 he returned to Yale as Instructor of Physics and he remained there until 1900. At this time he joined the Cramps Shipbuilding Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and stayed there until 1903, at which time he left to join the Platt Iron Works, Dayton, Ohio. In 1908 Gallaudet returned to Connecticut and entered into engineering consulting work.

As a youth he was always interested in soaring birds and the possibility of human flight with muscular power and, as a result, was continually studying aeronautics. While in Yale he was privately experimenting with a pontoon-equipped kite, employing warping wings for lateral balance, but due to faculty ridicule he abandoned his experiments. As the art of aviation progressed, Gallaudet followed developments with ever increasing interest. In December, 1909, he became a member of Aero Club of America. He never missed an opportunity to attend flying events in the East, and in July 1910 founded the Gallaudet Engineering Company of Norwich, Connecticut. Incorporators were: Edson F. Gallaudet, his brother Denison Gallaudet and Grosvenor Ely, all of Norwich. They were experimenting with the design and construction of an airplane and formed the company to exploit their work. Reportedly this was a monoplane on floats, and work was continued on it into the spring of 1911.

At this time the Wright Company established a flying school on Long Island, and Gallaudet arranged for instruction at once. He started his course about June 1st and was taught to fly by Wright instructor Al Welsh on a Wright Model-B. In his

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