Glenn Hammond Curtiss (May 21, 1878 – July 23, 1930) was an American aviation and motorcycling pioneer, and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry.

In 1908, Curtiss joined the Aerial Experiment Association, a pioneering research group, founded by Alexander Graham Bell at Beinn Bhreagh, Nova Scotia, to build flying machines.

His company built aircraft for the U.S. Army and Navy, and, during the years leading up to World War I, his experiments with seaplanes led to advances in naval aviation.

Corson's motorcycles had just been trounced the week before by "Hell Rider" Curtiss in an endurance race from New York to Cambridge, Maryland.

[8] On January 24, 1907,[9] Curtiss set an unofficial world record of 136.36 miles per hour (219.45 km/h), on a 40 horsepower (30 kW) 269 cu in (4,410 cc) V-8-powered motorcycle of his own design and construction in Ormond Beach, Florida.

In that same year, Baldwin's California Arrow, powered by a Curtiss 9 HP V-twin motorcycle engine, became the first successful dirigible in America.

Curtiss primarily designed the AEA's third aircraft, Aerodrome #3, the famous June Bug, and became its test pilot, undertaking most of the proving flights.

[17] After a 1909 fall-out with the AEA, Curtiss joined with A. M. Herring (and backers from the Aero Club of America) to found the Herring-Curtiss Company in Hammondsport.

[18] During the 1909–1910 period, Curtiss employed a number of demonstration pilots, including Eugene Ely, Charles K. Hamilton, J.A.D.

Aerial competitions and demonstration flights across North America helped to introduce aviation to a curious public; Curtiss took full advantage of these occasions to promote his products.

[N 1][23] On May 29, 1910, Curtiss flew from Albany to New York City to make the first long-distance flight between two major cities in the U.S. For this 137-mile (220 km) flight, which he completed in just under four hours including one stop to refuel, he won a $10,000 prize offered by publisher Joseph Pulitzer and was awarded permanent possession of the Scientific American Trophy.

Two months later, Lt. Jacob E. Fickel demonstrated the feasibility of shooting at targets on the ground from an aircraft with Curtiss serving as pilot.

[29] On November 14, 1910, Curtiss demonstration pilot Eugene Ely took off from a temporary platform mounted on the forward deck of the cruiser USS Birmingham.

His successful takeoff and ensuing flight to shore marked the beginning of a relationship between Curtiss and the Navy that remained significant for decades.

[30] At the end of 1910, Curtiss established a winter encampment at San Diego to teach flying to Army and Naval personnel.

On February 24, 1911, Curtiss made his first amphibious demonstration at North Island by taking off and alighting on both land and water.

[36][37] Around this time, Curtiss met retired British naval officer John Cyril Porte, who was looking for a partner to produce an aircraft with him to win the Daily Mail prize for the first transatlantic crossing.

With the backing of Rodman Wanamaker, Porte and Curtiss produced the America in 1914, a larger flying boat with two engines, for the transatlantic crossing.

[38] With the start of World War I, Porte returned to service in the Royal Navy, which subsequently purchased several models of the America, now called the H-4, from Curtiss.

Porte licensed and further developed the designs, constructing a range of Felixstowe long-range patrol aircraft, and from his experience passed along improvements to the hull to Curtiss.

They were some of the most famous products of the Curtiss company, and thousands were sold to the militaries of the United States, Canada, and Britain.

[45] Curtiss and his family moved to Florida in the 1920s, where he founded 18 corporations, served on civic commissions, and donated extensive land and water rights.

Shortly before his death, he designed a tailless aircraft with a V-shaped wing and tricycle landing gear that he hoped could be sold in the price range of a family car.

In turn, the Smithsonian endorsed the false statement that "Professor Samuel P. Langley had actually designed and built the first man-carrying flying machine capable of sustained flight."

Walcott ordered the plane modified by Curtiss to be returned to its original 1903 condition before going on display at the Smithsonian to cover up the deception.

[49][50] Traveling to Rochester to contest a lawsuit brought by former business partner August Herring, Curtiss suffered an attack of appendicitis in court.

[51] By an act of Congress on March 1, 1933, Curtiss was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, which now resides in the Smithsonian Institution.