Born Hammondsport, N.Y. May 21, 1887. At the turn of the century
began to design and build engines for balloons and dirigibles. In
1908 constructed a successful heavier-than-air craft in which he
established several records.
Curtiss demonstrated the value of aeroplanes to the U.S. Navy in
1911 when one of his aircraft successfully landed and launched from
the deck of the battleship PENNSYLVANIA. That same year, he also
developed a catapult for launching aircraft from naval vessels. In
1912 Curtiss built the first successful amphibian aircraft. The
first aerial crossing of the Atlantic Ocean was made by a Curtiss-designed
NC-4 Navy Flying Boat in May 1919. His genius produced many history-making
aircraft. The Curtiss name lives on in the aircraft company he established.
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