George Percival Scriven (February 21, 1854 – March 7, 1940) was the seventh Chief Signal Officer of the United States Army (1913–1917).

In this position he commanded the Aeronautical Division (1913–1914),and later the Aviation Section (1914–1917) of U.S. Signal Corps, the forerunner of the United States Air Force.

[1] Scriven was commissioned a second Lieutenant on June 14, 1878, and served with the Eighth Infantry, then returned to teach modern languages at West Point.

Delegated to the Adjutant General's Office, in 1890, Scriven was placed on duty with the State Department within the Army's Signal Corps.

He served in numerous military posts and roles over the next decade, including Chief Signal Officer and Military Secretary in Cuba in 1899; Chief Signal Officer as part of the China Relief Expedition from August to November 1900;[8][9] In 1902, Scriven, acting as Chief Signal Officer of the Army, contracted the Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Company for the September Long Island army navy maneuvers, setting up wireless telegraphy stations at Block Island, Gardiner's Island, and Army headquarters at Fort Trumbull, Connecticut.

[11] In January 1913, Colonel Scriven was promoted to brigadier general and appointed as the seventh Chief Signal Officer of the Army by President William Howard Taft.

[11] Wilbur and Orville Wright's first successful airplane flight on December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, generated tremendous public enthusiasm for aeronautics.

While national aeronautical libraries existed throughout the European continent by the turn of the twentieth century, university research in the United States "was virtually non-existent.

Particularly well suited to promote the study of aeronautics, the Division was charged with responsibility for all issues related to "military ballooning, air machines, and all kindred subjects.

In the Division's first year, the War Department submitted a request to Congress for a $200,000 appropriation for aeronautical equipment and instruction, but the item was struck from the final bill.

These men welcomed the attention finally being paid to the issue of military aeronautics, but Scriven in particular believed strongly that it would be a mistake to remove aviation from the Signal Corps, because it had the technical information and machinery necessary to perform the work, as well as experienced personnel.

The New York Times published the piece, entitled "Asks Trained Men for Army Aviation; Head of the Signal Corps Appeals for a Strengthening of That Branch of the Service."

Emphasizing that aerial navigation was on the verge of assuming significant consequence, Scriven stated" ... aviation, which may be considered a sport by the people of the country at large, is to the army a vital necessity.

Scriven, noting the situation as "critical," called for an increase in funding to support trained personnel for aeroplane and reconnaissance work.

Acknowledging the efforts of the Signal Corps in compiling data and information on the strength of materials, the use of radio-telegraphy in aeronautics, and other topics, Scriven concluded that "the Signal Corps officials give the opinion that the work of aeronautics in the United States Army should be carried out along its present lines of development, and that the work should receive every reasonable aid and encouragement by Congress.

It created the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps, eliminating the Aeronautical Division, and with that major organization change also increased the budget and personnel numbers.

Noting that the army "for the first time" had adequate organization for aviation work, the article stated that authorities including Scriven hoped "that they may do something to cover the ground lost by almost complete inaction for the last few years in the matter of mechanical flight.

"[22] Furthermore, the article noted that Scriven, along with Representative Hay, "deserve the lion's share of the credit for the fact that the aviation squadron is now a real and efficient engine of war.

While the American public for the most part continued to view airplanes as a recreational fad, sentiment in favor of a research center was growing among a small group of scholars and military men, including Brigadier General Scriven.

[18] Walcott, Scriven, and other like-minded men pushed for legislative action to provide for an advisory committee for aeronautics that would concentrate on research.

Aeronautical historian Michael Gorn states that the committee "chose well" as Scriven "brought a wealth of experience and know-how to the job.

Scriven "shrewdly linked the NACA's need for land to the Army's need to find a home for its own aeronautical research center, a measure also approved by Congress.

"[23] He appointed a board of officers, including four members of the Signal Corps' Aviation Division, to review fifteen possible locations.

The board ultimately chose a 1, 650-acre parcel of land in Elizabeth City County (now Hampton), Virginia, which the Army and the NACA agreed to share as the site of a future laboratory.

[26] While Scriven spent significant time traveling abroad for his military assignments, he always maintained a permanent residence in Washington, where his family lived full-time and where he entertained guests when at home.

He owned 1300 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W., from 1893 to 1928, and maintained it as his family's primary residence from 1893 until 1918, when he entered a lease agreement with the American Red Cross Woman's Club.

In 1910, while serving as Chief Signal Officer of the Philippines, he published a report analyzing the vulnerability of Corregidor Island to aerial surveillance and attack.

The house Scriven inhabited was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 27, 2013, as "Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past."

The house as it appears today includes each of these specifications, as well as an addition at the north elevation, made under the design of architect Henry Simpson and the supervision of builder Charles A. Langley in 1901.

While visually distinct, the design of the two-story addition complements the main building, featuring pressed brick, a flat roof, and matching double-hung windows and brownstone sills.