3825 €mm\l Uttivmitg I libatg THE GIFT OF .^n.,A.^.-W.?uiL A-^i7-U Zi. .5qi5 7583 Cornell University Library The original of tiiis bool< is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924031484201 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION An Account of the Exercises on the Occasion of the Presentation of the Langley Medal and the UnveiHng of the Langley Memorial Tablet, May 6, 1913, including the Addresses DR. ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL HIS EXCELLENCY, THE FRENCH AMBASSADOR, MONS. J. J. JUSSERAND DR. JOHN A. BRASHEAR, AND SECRETARY WALCOTT (Publication 2233) CITY OF WASHINGTON PUBLISHED BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 1913 1 -^i' 'UilT'f "I "■'('* /)£ Z^t Box^ igaitimott ^vtes BALTIMOBE, MD., TJ. S. A. /■/■//.fff.if f/if A/^y/fr/- f// //ftur/t /■(:}^//tr fff/// ffrr/fn) y///: ,yu/t// . /f. Off///.).} ff/ff/^/ ///f///.u/ff/-- /ff.)/ff/'f Of//f/ 5 r// f/*^' ■///i///).)f//>ff/// ■y'/ff/'yf/f//irf f//t • yff/',}//ff't/ /fyfef/'/f'o/f y//fft/ .>c./v7y '^/f/iff/ff/ .y fr/ty, /t/ji&f/>f"/t Au/iff/rYyyr/u/ /////■//vji /fry ffrrt (/ ffr^fA' INTRODUCTION In memory of the late Secretary Samuel Pierpont Langley and his contributions to the science of aerodromics, the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, on December 15, 1908, established the Langley Medal, "to be awarded for specially meritorious investigations in connection with the science of aerodromics and its application to aviation " ; and at the same meeting, as an additional memorial to Secretary Langley, pro- vided for the erection in the Institution building of a tablet, " setting forth his services in connection with the subject of aerial navigation." The first award of the medal was voted by the Board of Regents on February 10, 1909, to Wilbur and Orville Wright, " for advancing the science of aerodromics in its application to aviation by their successful investigations and demonstrations of the practicability of mechanical flight by man." The medal was presented to each of the brothers Wright at a meeting of the Board on February 10, 19 10. The second award of the medal was voted on February 13, 19 13, to Mr. Glenn H. Curtiss " for advancing the art of aero- dromics by his successful development of a hydro-aerodrome whereby the safety of the aviator has been greatly enhanced," and to Monsieur Gustave Eiffel " for advancing the science of aerodromics by his researches relating to the resistance of the air in connection with aviation." The presentation of these medals was made on May 6, 1913. This date was selected in order that the ceremonies incident to the presentation might take place in connection with the observ- ance of " Langley Day," which was established by the Aero Club of Washington in 191 1, to commemorate the achievement of mechanical flight on May 6, 1896, by the Langley aero- drome, the first successful flight of a heavier-than-air machine propelled by its own power. On May 6, 191 1, and again on May 6, 19 12, there were exhibition flights of biplanes and monoplanes near Washington. On the afternoon of May 6, 19 13, the celebration by the Club occurred at the Army War College immediately after the exercises in the Smithsonian 4 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION building, and consisted of a reception by the Aero Club, followed by hydro-aeroplane, biplane, and monoplane manoeuvers. The Langley Memorial Tablet was erected in the main vestibule of the Smithsonian building. It is of bronze, as shown in the accompanying illustration, and measures four feet six inches high by two feet five inches wide. The tablet represents Mr. Langley seated on a terrace where he has a clear view of the heavens, and, in a meditative mood, is observing the flight of birds, while in his mind he sees his aerodrome soaring above them. The lettering on the tablet is as follows : SAMUEL PIERPONT LANGLEY 1834-1906 Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 1887-1906 Discovered the relations of speed and angle of inclination to the lifting power of surfaces moving in air " I have brought to a close the portion of the work which seemed to be specially mine, the demonstration of the practicability of mechanical flight." " The great universal highway overhead is now soon to be opened." — Langley, 1901. The unveiling of the tablet also occurred on " Langley Day " as described below. Charles D. Walcott, Secretary. PRESENTATION OF THE LANGLEY MEDAL The participants in the Langley Day celebration at the Smith- sonian Institution were the French Ambassador, who received a Langley Medal on behalf of M. Gustave Eiffel; Mr. Glenn H. Curtiss, to whom a Langley Medal was also presented ; Gen- eral James Allen, U. S. A., President of the Aero Club of Washington ; Dr. A. Graham Bell, a Regent of the Institution, who made an address and presented the medals; Dr. John A. Brashear, who spoke of Mr. Langley's work, and unveiled the tablet erected in his honor by the Institution ; Chancellor Samuel B. McCormick, of the University of Pittsburgh, where Mr. Langley held a chair for many years before coming to Wash- ington ; and Dr. Charles D. Walcott, Secretary of the Institution, who presided. Remarks by Secretary Walcott Before introducing Doctor Bell, I Wish to mention two per- sonal incidents connected with the later phases of Doctor Lang- ley's development of his aeroplane, that may serve to present a clear view to your mind on two points on which he has been frequently misunderstood. Happening to meet him in the spring of 1898, just before the outbreak of the Spanish War, and noting that he seemed to be depressed, I asked what was troubling him. He said : " I have come to the end of my means for building a large, man-carrying aeroplane, that I think might be of service to the Government in the war which now seems imminent." Meeting him agaia the following day in the street, I asked him if he really would like to construct a large machine. In reply he said : " Yes, as I think it will be practicable and of service." I then called on President McKinley and explained the situa- tion to him, suggesting that the proper officials look into the matter, with the view of utilizing the aeroplane in connection with the war. The President at once referred the matter to the War and Navy Departments, with the result that means were found for constructing a large aeroplane. I cite this incident as showing that the real incentive with Dr. Langley was to do something that would be of service to the Government. He had already demonstrated the practicability 6 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION of a heavier-than-air machine. Many have expressed regret that he did not stop at this stage, but It was a patriotic impulse that led him to go on and take the chance of success or failure. Another Incident occurred after the construction of the machine when it was waiting to be tried out on the Potomac. Hearing that there was danger of the launching apparatus on the house-boat failing properly to perform Its functions, I asked Dr. Langley if he did not think It practicable to start the machine on the ground, and thus insure the speed necessary to sustain It in flight under conditions that would not place so heavy a strain both on the launching apparatus and the aeroplane. He replied that possibly It could be done, but that he was unwilling to run the risk of sacrificing the aviator in the event of any mishap occurring on land, as he thought that if the machine fell Into the water the chances were far greater for his escape. This Incident Illustrates Dr. Langley's love and loyalty for those with whom he was closely associated. He would rather run the risk of failure than to unnecessarily, as he considered It, expose the aviator to great danger. Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, In writing to the Secretary of the Institution in 1908, said: " The Wright brothers are being deservedly honored In Europe. Cannot America do anything for them ? Why should not the Smithsonian Institution give a Langley Medal to encour- age aviation? " The matter was presented to the Board of Regents at the December meeting, and action taken establishing the Langley Medal, to be awarded for specially meritorious investigations in connection with the science of aerodromics and its application to aviation. On February 10, 19 10, the Langley Medal was presented to Messrs. Wilbur and Orville Wright, and to-day awards are to be made to the distinguished Frenchman, Monsieur Gustave Eiffel, and to our countryman, Mr. Glenn H. Curtiss, and It Is most fitting that Dr. Alexander Graham Bell should make the presentation address in each instance. Address of Dr. Alexander Graham Bell in presenting THE Langley Medal to M. Gustave Eiffel Mr. Chairman, Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen: We meet to-day on the anniversary of an historical event— the suC- LANGLEY MEDAL AND TABLET 7 cessful flight of Langley's steam-driven aerodrome model, on May 6, 1896. It is not my intention to say much of the work of the late Secretary Langley, as his old friend, Dr. John A. Brashear, will speak of it later; but, in relation to this historic event of the sixth of May, 1896, it so happens that I was the only witness, with the exception of the workmen employed, and I may, there- fore, be pardoned for saying a few words about that remarkable experiment. THE EXPERIMENT OF IVLfVY 6, 1 896 When I reached Quantico, on the Potomac, I found Lang- ley's houseboat at anchor in the middle of the bay. On the roof was a most remarkable machine, a model having a spread of about thirteen feet from tip to tip of the wings. It was pro- posed to drive this model through the air by means of a very light steam engine, especially devised by Dr. Langley, and made under his direction. The launching was to be effected by a cata- pult, which would shoot the model off the roof of the houseboat. I went out into the middle of the bay in a boat, where I might get a near view of the apparatus, and provided myself with a camera in case I should have an opportunity for a snap-shot at the machine in the air. Secretary Langley, too nervous to be close at hand, retreated to the shore ; and, in my mind's eye, I can see him now, a lonely figure against the dark background of the woods, watching from a distance the results of the experiment. Then came the whirr of the propellers, the catapult was re- leased, and the machine shot off horizontally into the air. This was a critical moment — Would the machine fall into the water? Would it fly against the trees that surrounded the bay? Or would it clear the trees and make an extended flight? These questions were soon answered by the machine itself, which gradually rose into the air and made a beautiful, steady flight, far above the trees, continuing to climb higher and higher as it went along, until at last the steam was exhausted and the propellers stopped. Then came another critical moment — Would the machine plunge headlong into the water with a crash ? But no, it glided gracefully down and alighted gently on the water, none the worse for its trip, excepting for a wetting. After the wings had been dried the machine was again tried with the same success. 8 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION The workmen hailed Professor Langley on the shore with loud cheers, in which, of course, I joined. This was his moment of triumph. After many years of study and experiment he had at last seen with his own eyes a steam engine flying with wings in the air, like a bird. It had flown steadily on its designed course, without a guiding hand, travers- ing a distance of half-a-mile and coming down gently upon the water without injury. I could not help wondering, as I watched Professor Langley on the shore, what were his thoughts on that historical occasion. At a later period he tells us : " I have brought to a close the portion of the work which seemed to be specially mine, the demonstration of the practicability of mechanical flight; and for the next stage, which is the commercial and practical development of the idea, it is probable that the world may look to others." And then he added this prophecy : "The world indeed will be supine if it do not realize that a new possibility has come to it, and that the great universal highway overhead is now soon to be opened. " Before the days of Langley the lot of the flying-machine inventor was indeed a most unhappy one. Treated with ridicule and contempt by the general public, he was placed on a level with " Darius Green and his flying machine." It was almost as much as a man's reputation was worth to be known to be at work on such a subject; and the knowledge that Dr. Samuel Pierpont Langley, a man of acknowledged eminence in the scientific world, and Secretary of the Smithsonian Institu- tion, was devoting his time to the study of aerial flight, proved an inspiration and support to others engaged in the same field of research. When at last he succeeded in this memorable experiment of May 6, 1896, he convinced the world of the practicability of mechanical flight, and paved the way for the successes that have since been achieved. It is for this reason that the Smithsonian Institution very properly celebrates the sixth of May as " Lang- ley Day." THE WORD AERODROME Secretary Langley called his machine an " Aerodrome," from the Greek word aerodromes, " traversing the air " ; and used the word " Aerodromics," as a general term to designate the art of traversing the air — aerial locomotion. LANGLEY MEDAL AND TABLET 9 It is unfortunate that the word " aerodrome " should have been reintroduced into Enghsh, from the French, with quite a different signification. It was at one time applied to the building in which flying machines were housed — as inappropriate a designation as could well be conceived, like applying the term " hippodrome " to a stable. More recently another meaning has made its appearance ; and the word " aerodrome " is now quite commonly used to desig- nate a field over which aviation is practiced. But it is surely incorrect to apply to a field a word that means " traversing the air." The usage has probably arisen from the attempt to form a compound of aero and dromos on the model of hippodrome, without recognizing the fact that the word aerodromos already existed, and was to be found in every Greek lexicon, with the meaning employed by Langley. The technical terms used in a new art are, of course, more or less liable to change, as time goes on; but I think it will be admitted by all that the terminology adopted by Langley is appropriate and consistent with etymology. M. GUSTAVE EIFFEL Since the award of the Langley Medal to the Wright brothers three years ago, there has been great activity in the field of aviation, especially in France. The War Departments of all nations have been constantly at work, but little is known of the character of the advances made. So far as the public are aware, the chief progress has related to details of construction and improvements in motive power. The advance has been much greater in the art than in the science of aerodromics. There has been considerable advance, however, in the science along the lines laid down by the late Secretary Langley, espe- cially by Monsieur Gustave Eiffel, the Director of the Eiffel Aerodynamical Laboratory in Paris. This eminent engineer, the constructor of the Eiffel Tower, though more than eighty years of age, still continues his studies in his chosen field of labor with all the enthusiasm of youth, and his writings upon the sub- ject of resistance of the air have already become classical. His researches, published in 1907 and 191 1, on the resistance of the air in connection with aviation, are especially important and 10 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION valuable. They have given engineers the data for designing and constructing flying machines upon sound, scientific principles. In view of the fact that his experiments have been directly in line with the researches of the late Secretary Langley, the award of a Langley Medal to Monsieur Eiffel is peculiarly appropriate. We wish, indeed, that Monsieur Eiffel were able to be present with us to-day to receive his medal in person, but we are glad to welcome as his representative. His Excellency, the Frei^ch Ambassador, who has kindly consented to convey the medal' to Monsieur Eiffel in Paris. This medal marks not only our appre- ciation of the importance of Monsieur Eiffel's researches, but also forms some slight acknowledgment of the great debt we owe to France for her marvelous developments in the field of practical aviation. Your Excellency, on behalf of the Smithsonian Institution, I have the honor of handing to you the Langley Medal, awarded to Monsieur Gustave Eiffel for advancing the science of aero- dromics by his researches relating to the resistance of the air in connection with aviation. [Applause.] Address of Ambassador Jusserand in accepting the Langley Medal on behalf of M. Eiffel Mr. Secretary, Ladies and Gentlemen: On behalf, and in the absence of, my compatriot. Monsieur Eiffel, I accept with feelings of deep gratitude this handsome medal. And I shall convey to him not only the medal but the words which a man so celebrated as Doctor Graham Bell has been kind enough to speak about him and about my country. To me, the French Ambassador, this occasion has a great significance. It is the continuation of other occasions dating back from the early days, and, I may say, from the first year of your independence. When General Rocharabeau was about to leave this country, after the taking of Yorktown by Washington and by himself, he received a number of addresses from learned institutions, col- leges, and universities, and one of the most striking came to him from the still prosperous William and Mary College at Wil- liamsburg, in which the president and professors said: " Among the many substantial advantages which this country hath already LANGLEY MEDAL AND TABLET II derived and which must ever continue to flow from its connection with France, we are persuaded that the improvement of useful knowledge will not be the least. A number of distinguished characters in your army " — Rochambeau's chief of staff, Chas- tellux, was a member of the French Academy — " afford us the happiest presage that science as well as liberty will acquire vigor from the fostering hand of your nation You have reaped the noblest laurels which victory can bestow ; and it is perhaps not an inferior triumph to have obtained the sincere affection of a grateful people." Well, there was something prophetical in these words. We have seen France and America vie with each other not only in the conquest of better, greater, and safer liberty from year to year, but also in the producing of more and more momentous inventions, improving the plane of life of the many, reaching less faulty solutions of the great social problems. Nothing more striking has taken place on these lines than in what concerns the conquest of the air. It is surely appropriate to remember that one of the very first flights ever attempted took place in Versailles, when one of the earliest balloons rose a fortnight after the treaty definitively securing your independ- ence had been signed there in 1783. And you all know that Franklin, when asked. What was the good of such an invention? answered, "What is the good of a new-born child?" The child has grown, and is rapidly becoming a giant in power. There is no branch of human activity in which France and America have more truly vied with each other than this one, from the memorable day of the Montgolfiere, so quickly per- fected by the French physicist Charles, to our own time. Another memorable day was the 9th of April, 1884, when the first dirigible balloon, that could really be directed, steered by Captains Renard and Krebs, left Meudon, went to Paris, and returned to Meudon. [Applause.] Then came your turn, with the now better known and better appreciated experiments of Mr. Langley and the wonderful achievements of the Wright brothers. We take pride in think- ing that France was the country where they consented to make their first public experiments. You know how Wilbur Wright won among us instant popularity and how a monument is about to be raised on the field where his aeroplane first flew before an applauding crowd. Then wonders succeeded each other so fast that a mere enumeration would detain you much too long, from 12 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION the crossing to England by Bleriot to the crossing of the Alps by Chavez, whose victory cost him his life, the reaching of incredible heights and incredible speed, the carrying of more and more numerous passengers, and the new and extraordinary performances of your own amphibious Glenn Curtiss. [Laugh- ter and applause.] That compatriot of mine, which it is your desire to honor to-day, certainly deserves to be ranked among the conquerors of air, although I do not know whether, owing to age, he ever navigated it. But he has supplied invaluable help to the flying men of all nations by telling them what air is, what freaks and dangers can be expected from it and how they can be overcome. His studies on the resistance of air have at once become classical. By the very practical system of preliminary experiments which he has devised in his Auteuil laboratory he is able to tell every inventor : You can trust your new machine, or you cannot, and this is how your device should be amended. Many a life has been preserved by him. It Is impossible for me, speaking of him, not to allude to that unique Eiffel Tower, which did not meet only applause at its birth ! Not a few grumbled and objected and found fault; they protested against its shape, its height, its duration. According to contract it was to stand twenty years. Now, twenty years and more have elapsed, and there is not a man in France but has grown to a feeling of love for the Eiffel Tower. A thing of use, it has become, in Its way, a thing of beauty. The number of scientific experiments that can be and are actually carried on in the Eiffel Tower — on meteorology, electricity, wireless teleg- raphy, etc. — is unbelievable ; like a live, beneficent, far-sighted being, it has a history of its own ; that of our times cannot be told without the tower coming In for a long list of services rendered to mankind. Quite recently four French officers were sent to this country to try to talk with the Eiffel Tower. They estab- lished themselves at Arlington, and they succeeded, fixing more accurately than ever before the difference of longitude between Paris and Washington and bringing nearer together the capitals of the two great republics of the world, formerly so far apart (it had taken Rochambeau's army seventy days to cross the ocean), now within speaking distance. The Eiffel Tower has become the sentinel, keeping watch over France, and beyond. It reveals to us what Is going on In LANGLEY MEDAL AND TABLET 1 3 the world, whom we should trust and whom not. It plays for us the part the statues of the Provinces, spoken of In the famous Mirabilia Roma, played, it was said, for the Romans, warning them of their dangers. For which cause there is no monument better loved now-a-days in France than the Eiffel Tower, and it has only well-wishers. To its inventor and builder, to the scientist who has snatched from air some of its secrets, your medal will be conveyed. The value of such a token will be greatly increased in his eyes by the words of our chairman of to-day and by the fact that we have such a chairman, himself an Inventor, a model scientist, a public benefactor, he too one of those men whose name will not die : VMtur ingenia, cetera mortis erant. [Applause.] Address of Dr. Alexander Graham Bell in presenting THE Langley Medal to Mr. Glenn H. Curtiss The conquest of the air has always been an object eagerly sought by man. The history of the past reveals the fact that all nations have contributed Ideas and theories upon the subject from the very earliest times. To the French, however, the world owes the Introduction of aerial locomotion as a really practical art. In 1783 they began by giving us the balloon, not merely the hot-air balloon of the brothers Montgolfier, but the hydrogen balloon of Professor Charles and the brothers Roberts. In 1 82 1 Charles Green of England substituted coal gas for hydrogen. About 1863 Monsieur Nadar, of France, produced his cele- brated " Manifesto," in favor of flying machines versus bal- loons; and the controversy between the advocates of " heavier- than-air " and " light er-than-air " machines is not ended yet, in spite of Innumerable experiments — made chiefly by the French. In 1896 the success of Langley's aerodrome model in Amer- ica convinced the world that motor-driven flying machines of the heavier-than-air type were really practicable; and gave an im- mense Impetus to that branch of the subject. In 1898 the Board of Ordnance and Fortification of the United States Army appropriated $50,000 to enable Langley to build a full-sized aerodrome that should carry a man. In 1903, on October 7 and December 8, Langley's man- carrying aerodrome, with Mr. Charles M. Manly as aviator. 14 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION was tried on the Potomac, near Washington, D. C, but failed to get into the air. A little later, in the same year, the Wright brothers tried a motor on their gliding machine at Kitty Hawk, N. C, and, on December 17, 1903, two flights were made by Wilbur Wright and two by Orville Wright. These were the first successful flights ever made by man in a heavier-than-air flying machine driven by its own power. Great publicity was given to Langley's failure and little notice was taken of the Wright brothers' success; so that the public generally were not greatly impressed with the possibilities of dynamic flight. The Wright brothers, not desiring publicity at that time, took their machine to Dayton, Ohio, near which city they lived, as they believed they could there carry on experi- ments in private. Their belief was justified; and, during 1904 and 1905, they were able to practice aviation without attracting much attention, at a place only eight miles east of Dayton, at that time a city of more than 85,000 inhabitants. Nothing is more surprising than the secrecy they were able to maintain during these two years of active work. Vague rumors of their success appeared in the public press from time to time, but these were generally discredited as too marvelous for belief. In 1905 they made forty-five flights, in the longest of which, on October 5, they remained in the air for thirty minutes and three seconds, and covered a distance of twenty-four and a quarter miles. The attention the flights were beginning to attract, then led them suddenly to discontinue their experiments in order to prevent the construction of their machine from becoming public property. In 1906, Santos Dumont, without any definite knowledge of what the Wright brothers had been doing, succeeded in making a flight in France in a heavier-than-air machine of his own design. This was the first public flight ever made. In 1908, on the 12th of March, the first public flight in Amer- ica took place over the ice on Lake Keuka, near Hammondsport, N. Y., in Aerodrome No. i, of the Aerial Experiment Associa- tion. This was Selfridge's " Red Wing," but the aviator on this occasion was Mr. F. W. Baldwin, of Canada. It was not until September, 1908, that the Wright brothers appeared in public. Then Wilbur Wright, in France, and Orville Wright, in America, startled the world with their mar- LANGLEY MEDAL AND TABLET 1 5 velous achievements, and proved themselves far ahead of all others in their knowledge and practice of aviation. From that time to this, droming through the air has become an everyday accomplishment; and the French have gradually forged ahead, until they are now foremost in the general art of aviation, although new features of great importance have re- cently been developed in America. MR. G(LENN H. CURTISS These new developments have been due to Mr. Glenn H. Curtiss, of Hammondsport, N. Y., an American who is young enough, I am glad to say, to have a great future still in store for him. Born in 1878, at Hammondsport, he early showed his in- ventive genius and his love for speed. Not satisfied with the ordinary means of progression attained on skates, he manufac- tured for himself, when quite a little boy, skate-sails with which he practiced upon the ice on Lake Keuka, the scene of many of his later exploits. When he was twelve years old the family removed to Roches- ter, N. Y. During the intervals of his school work he was employed as a telegraph messenger boy, and took advantage of his opportunities to study electricity, and make a complete tele- graphic outfit for himself out of the crudest materials. After a while he obtained employment at the Eastman Kodak Company's work, assembling cameras ; and then made a camera for himself out of a cigar box. After a few years in Rochester he left his parents and obtained employment in Hammondsport in a bicycle repair shop, of which he became practically head when only 19 years of age, and, three years later, in 1900, he embarked in the bicycle business for himself. As an instance of Mr. Curtiss's versatility, he studied a defective acetylene gas plant in a business house in Hammonds- port, discovered the defect and remedied it. He then went on to make a gas generator for himself out of a couple of tin cans; and, as a result of his experiments, he made an acetylene- gas plant for lighting his own home and workshop and then fur- nished light for other business houses in Hammondsport. As a bicycle manufacturer he was anxious for speed; and so he adapted a gasoline motor to his bicycle, " to give it a push," as he expressed it. He developed his tin-can gas generator into 1 6 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION a carburettor for his engine, and was thus led to study the con- struction of motorcycles and improve them. The Curtiss motor- cycle was so successful as to lead him to change his bicycle manu- factory into a motorcycle factory. He went on diminishing the weight of his motor, and increas- ing the speed of his cycle, until, in 1907, on January 24, at Ormond Beach, Fla., he established a new world's record for speed by travelling at the rate of 137 miles an hour. The light engines he developed for his motorcycle work drew attention to him as a man who would be likely to produce a powerful motor of sufficiently light weight for use in dirigible balloons; and Thomas Scott Baldwin sought his aid in providing a motor for his dirigible balloon, " The California Arrow," which was tried in 1904. Mr. T. S. Baldwin then moved his balloon factory to Hammondsport to be in touch with the Cur- tiss factory, where all the mechanical parts of his dirigible bal- loons were made. In this way Mr. Curtiss became familiar with aerial machines of the lighter-than-air variety. His success in building light engines for motorcycles and bal- loons pointed him out as the man most suited to provide engines for flying machines of the heavier-than-air type; and in 1907 he was invited to become a member of The Aerial Experiment Association and was made its " Director of Experiments." This association was organized on the first of October, 1907, with the expressed object of " constructing a practical aero- drome, driven by its own motive power, and carrying a man." The membership comprised Mr. F. W. Baldwin, Mr. Glenn H. Curtiss, Mr. J. A. D. McCurdy, and Lieut. Thomas E. Sel- f ridge, of the U. S. Army, with myself as chairman; and the necessary funds for carrying on the work of the organization were contributed by Mrs. Bell. Four aerodromes were designed by members of the associa- tion and built at the Curtiss factory at Hammondsport under the direction of Mr. Curtiss : Drome No. 1, Selfridge's "Red Wing" Drome No. 2, Baldwin's " White Wing" Drome No. 3, Curtiss's "June Bug" Drome No. 4, McCurdy's "Silver Dart" All of these were successfully flown by different members ; and the association, having accomplished the object of its existence, was dissolved March 31, 1909, by time limitation. LANGLEY MEDAL AND TABLET 1 7 The members were much impressed by the dangers inherent in the practice of aerodromics; more especially after the death of their secretary, Lieut. Selfridge, who was killed in the acci- dent to Orville Wright's machine at Fort Myer, Va., September 17, 1908. His was the first life sacrificed to the cause of modern aviation ; and Self ridge's name now heads a long list of fatalities. The associates discussed many plans for improving the safety of their machines; and made many experiments to effect aviation over water, believing that it would be safer to arise from the water and alight upon it, rather than risk the life of the inex- perienced aviator, during the process of learning his art, by fly- ing over land where even a slight fall might be fatal. In pursuance of these ideas, floats were placed under Curtiss's drome, the " June Bug," which he then renamed the " Loon "; and, on November 28 and 29, 1908, it was tried on Lake Keuka. Though it made good speed upon the water, it failed to rise into the air. This experiment is chiefly notable as Curtiss's maiden effort at hydro-aviation. On July 4, 1908, while still a member of the association, Mr. Curtiss made his first appearance in public as an aviator, and gained the Scientific American Trophy for the first measured flight of one kilometer, under test conditions, made in America. After the dissolution of the association he went from one success to another; and his successes are altogether too numerous to be mentioned in detail here. He took a new machine of his own design to Europe, and entered it at the first International Aviation Meet, which was held August 22-29, 1909, at Rheims, France. Here he won the Gordon-Bennett Cup in competition with Bleriot, Latham, Lefebre and Cockburn, and brought this international trophy to America. In May, 19 10, he flew from Albany to New York City, over the Hudson River, with two light pontoons attached to his machine, to enable it to float should it come down into the water. In 19 1 1 Mr. Curtiss continued his efforts to construct a machine that would not only float, but would rise from the water into the air; and, in January, 19 12, he succeeded in doing this in San Diego Bay, California. "On January 26, 1912," he says, " the first success came "; and the Aero Club of America awarded him the Collier Trophy for his accomplishment. In February, 19 12, he demonstrated the use to the navy of such machines by flying to the U. S.' armored cruiser 1 8 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION " Pennsylvania " and alighting in the water beside the vessel. The machine was hoisted up on the vessel's deck, and then again lowered into the water without damage, showing the possibilities of handling such machines without special equipment. He then rose from the water and flew back to his starting point. By July, 19 1 2, he had developed that remarkable machine he calls " the flying boat," which represents the greatest advance yet made along these lines. It develops great speed upon the water and also in the air and is equally at home in either element. The world is now following Mr. Curtiss's lead in the develop- ment of flying machines of this kind. Great experience in the handling of aerial machines is neces- sary before aviators can safely make extended flights over landj where a fall might be fatal. The successful development of the hydro-aerodrome now enables this experience to be gained over water without serious danger to life or limb ; and marks a notable advance in the direction of safety that has very properly been recognized by the Smithsonian Institution by the award of a Langley Medal to Mr. Curtiss. Mr. Curtiss, on behalf of the Smithsonian Institution, I take great pleasure In handing to you the Langley Medal, awarded to you for advancing the art of aerodromics by your successful development of a hydro-aerodrome, whereby the safety of the aviator has been greatly enhanced. Acceptance of the Langley Medal by Mr. Curtiss Mr. Secretary, Ladies and Gentlemen: I simply wish to express my feelings of gratitude and pleasure at being the re- cipient of this honor, and to thank the Smithsonian Institution and Its Board of Regents for making the award. The announcement came to me entirely as a surprise, but It is very gratifying to know that an institution of the standing of the Smithsonian Is giving consideration and attention to water flying. We know that Professor Langley preferred to fly from water, and Doctor Alexander Bell has always advocated that type of a machine, and, of late years, I have devoted some time to It. As I look at the Langley models here, it becomes more evident to me than ever before — the merit of these machines and the great work which Mr. Langley did. We now know, as a result of Mr. Eiffel's laboratory experiments that flying planes used by LANGLEY MEDAL AND TABLET 1 9 Professor Langley had a great deal of efficiency, and it is also generally known that the Langley machines, as he built them, had more inherent stability than the models which those of us who followed after Langley used in our first flights. I cannot say too much in favor and in memory of Professor Langley. [Applause.] Remarks by Secretary Walcott I should like to call the attention of the audience to the model on the left. It is the Langley machine of 1 896, which made the flight down the Potomac. Doctor Bell has'told you that he went out on the river, taking a camera with him, but he did not state that he was so successful as to get a fine photograph of that machine in flight nearly half a mile above the Potomac. The middle model is that of the large man-carrying machine which would undoubtedly have flown had it not been for the failure of the launching apparatus. Over on the right is another of the small machines that made successful flights. These you can look at as you pass out. UNVEILING OF LANGLEY MEMORIAL TABLET. Remarks by Secretary Walcott At the same meeting of the Board of Regents at which the Langley Medal was established, provision was made for taking up the question of the erection, in the Smithsonian Institution building, of a tablet to the memory of Secretary Langley, set- ting forth his services in connection with the subject of aerial navigation. It is most fortunate that Dr. John A. Brashear, one of Pro- fessor Langley's oldest and dearest friends, and his warm sup- porter during his long investigations connected with the subject of aerial flight, is here to give the memorial address on this occasion. Address by Dr. John A. Brashear Mr. Secretary, Ladies and Gentlemen: I trust you will par- don my frequent use of the personal pronoun in the brief address I am to give you on this occasion ; for otherwise I could not tell the story of the great man whom we honor here to-day. It is from my heart that I must speak of him who was a close personal friend for more than half my life. Indeed, it is now nearly forty years since I first met Professor Langley at the Allegheny Ob- servatory at his request to show him the results of many years of labor by myself and wife in the making of a lens. I remember how my knees trembled as I stood before him and he gazed, as it seemed, into the inner recesses of that lens upon which we had spent so much thought, time, and labor. But he received me so kindly that my fears were soon banished. He showed me how to proceed in order to improve the lensj and then took me to view Saturn through the great telescope of the obser- vatory. I carried away recollections of that visit that are as fresh In my mind to-day as if it had happened yesterday. I did not then think that I should ever be closely associated with Pro- fessor Langley in his profound study of astronomical science, but it was not long afterward that he sent for me to carry out certain of the mechanical details he had planned. I was very LANGLEY MEDAL AND TABLET 21 fortunate in accomplishing what he asked me to do and he was good enough to express pleasure in having found some one inter- ested in his work. In later years he invited me to listen to the reading of the manuscript of his book on " The New Astronomy," and, as I sat absorbing the words of that great man I gained information that I could have found in no other way then available to me. I can recall some of the most beautiful passages of that manu- script as if I had heard them read but yesterday. One passage in relation to his studies of the moon is very fresh indeed in my mind. Rewrites: " Let us leave here the desolation about us, happy that we can come back at will to that world, our own famil- iar dwelling, where the meadows are still green and the birds still sing, and where, better yet, still dwells our own kind — surely the world, of all we have found in our wanderings, which we should ourselves have chosen to be our home." I shall never forget his most beautiful illustration of the life history of the stars. He writes: " I have read somewhere a story about a race of ephemeral insects who live but an hour. To those who are born in the early morning the sunrise is the time of youth. They die of old age while its beams are yet gath- ering force, and only their descendants live on to midday ; while it is another race which sees the sun decline from that which saw it rise. Imagine the sun about to set, and the whole nation of mites gathered under the shadow of some mushroom (to them ancient as the sun itself) to hear what their wisest philosopher has to say of the gloomy prospect. If I remember aright, he first told them that, incredible as it might seem, there was not only a time in the world's youth when the mushroom itself was young, but that the sun in those early ages was in the eastern, not in the western, sky. Since then, he explained, the eyes of scientific ephemera had followed it, and established by induc- tion from vast experience the great ' Law of Nature,' that it moved only westward; and he showed that since it was now nearing the western horizon, science herself pointed to the con- clusion that it was about to disappear forever, together with the great race of ephemera for whom it was created. " What his hearers thought of this discourse, I do not remem- ber, but I have heard that the sun rose again the next morning." Professor Langley was a lover of children. I have heard friends whose homes he visited describe how he would gather 22 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION the little ones around him and tell them fairy stories, many of which he would improvise with wonderful tact, to please the children. A Washington lady had made several attempts to converse with Professor Langley, at receptions, upon his scien- tific investigations, but, failing to get the response desired, in her despair she asked him one evening what he did like to talk about. He quickly replied, " children and fairy stories." His beloved niece, the daughter of Professor John W. Langley, who attended him in his last illness, told me, that at her uncle's request, she took with her from Washington one of Andrew Lang's fairy-story books, which she read to him during his last illness. Professor Langley came to Allegheny Observatory in 1867. In 1869 he had already devised and put into operation the electric system of sending telegraphic time to many of the Penn- sylvania Railroad lines which were connected with the observa- tory. Other messages had been sent for time service in a desul- tory manner by the Naval Observatory in Washington and by Harvard College Observatory, but there is absolute certainty that the observatory time, as it was then called, was first regu- larly sent out from our own observatory, of which he was the director. I will quote from one of his articles, written in 1870. He says: " For the benefit of any future writer of the history of the subject, it may be stated that in 1870 the Allegheny Observa- tory had already in extended operation the system of time dis- tribution to four thousand seven hundred and thirteen miles of railroads; that about 1873 the Director of the Cambridge Ob- servatory, after conference with the writer, introduced substan- tially the same provision for connecting Harvard College Obser- vatory with the New England roads ; and that, about the same time, the Washington Observatory, which had previously sent signals in a limited and desultory manner, commenced to do so in emulation of the new system." Our friend commenced his studies of the sun very soon after he became director of the Allegheny Observatory. He made many beautiful drawings of sun spots and associated phenomena ; indeed, there are few astronomers who are not familiar with his exquisite and now classic drawing of the great sun spot of 1873. He was, I believe, one of the very first to associate magnetic disturbances on the earth with solar outbreaks of a very active LANGLEY MEDAL AND TABLET 23 character when on a meridian of the sun where such magnetic lines of force would reach the earth. When Professor Langley became director of the Allegheny Observatory, he found a very meager equipment and no endow- ment, but, fortunately for him — and may I add with profound gratitude for myself also — a friend was found, who stood by us until death carried him to the " summer land." The name of William Thaw will ever be associated with every successful research made at the Allegheny Observatory during Professor Langley's directorate, and it is needless to say that William Thaw was held in the highest esteem by the man whose memory we honor here to-day. In his studies in the domain of solar physics. Professor Lang- ley was early impressed with the idea that much of the radiant energy from the sun was not recognized by the instruments then in use, and, after a long series of experiments, he discovered and developed that marvelously delicate instrument, the bolom- eter. With that instrument he began a series of investigations upon the sun, the moon, and the stars, which was continued for many years, bringing to light some of the most important factors in the whole realm of astronomical physics. After making a long series of studies of the selective absorp- tion of the earth's atmosphere at the lower levels or valleys, Pro- fessor Langley made a similar investigation on the top of Mount Whitney in southern California. This work, in which he was assisted by Dr. William Day and Professor Keeler, the results of which have become classic, has, in a large degree, settled the problem of the selective absorption of the earth's atmosphere in its relation to the sun's radiant energy and the intimately cor- related problem of organic life upon our globe. Professor Langley found time also to study many minor, though important, questions bearing upon radiant energy, not alone from the sun but from other sources. His study of the moon's temperature added immensely to our knowledge of " the lesser light that rules the night." With his spectrobolometer, the highest temperature of the moon was found to be about zero Centigrade and the lowest temperature approximately that of space. Langley's work in mapping the invisible spectrum was a Her- culean task. Aided by Professors Keeler, Very, and Page, thousands of measurements were made with the spectrobolom- eter and the delicate galvanometer, invented by him, before the 24 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION photographic method was devised and developed so beautifully by Professor Langley and his co-workers at the Smithsonian Institution. Well do I remember how many times the rock-salt prisms and lenses which were to be used in connection with his bolometric studies were brought over to our workshop from the observatory at about ten o'clock in the moi-ning of a bright day, with the request that they be polished and figured by noon ! I do not remember ever to have disappointed my dear friend In the matter of his request. The subsequent mapping of the infra-red spectrum by pho- tography, at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, has been a magnificent piece of work, and to Professor Langley's assistant In later years, Mr. Abbot, must be given a very large share of the credit which he so well deserves. Later, Professor Langley became deeply interested in the problem of variable solar radiation, in the study of which he was greatly assisted by Mr. Abbot and his associates, and, al- though the research had not been completed at the time of his death, he was convinced by results already obtained that our sun is a variable star with a rather larger coefiicient than has been suspected. The recent careful and critical researches made by Mr. Abbot fully confirm the earlier results obtained by Langley and himself. Our good friend. Dr. Graham Bell, has given us such a val- uable compendium of Langley's great work in aerodynamics and aviation that I need add but little to what he has said, but, as I was associated with Langley for three years, I may be permitted to add a few words. The story Is a long one, of how Professor Langley became Interested in the problem of flight. Suffice it to say that his original purpose was not to construct a flying-machine, but rather, if possible, to determine the laws governing flight. I am sure that every one, including myself, who was associated with him in that work, and in the fascinating problem that he took to himself, knows that he undertook to solve it in a rigor- ous, critical, and scientific manner. His invention of the dyna- mometer chronograph aided largely in this research. Nothing was left to be guessed at; every experiment with birds and aero- planes was as carefully carried out as were his astrophysical studies. We all know what has been accomplished since that time, and, in the words that you have heard from Doctor Bell, in relation to LANGLEY MEDAL AND TABLET 25 those who have won the Langley Medal, we know their great work was based upon Langley's original investigations. Be it said to the credit of everyone who has attained great success in the domain of aerodynamics, aerodromics, or aviation, that they have given credit to our dear friend whose work was that of a pioneer. Professor Langley's writings have great literary beauty. One has only to read the pages of his book " The New Astronomy," which I have already referred to, to be charmed with the beauty and clearness of his style. No matter how abstruse the subject, he seemed to have the ability to make it plain even to the lay reader, who, though not an investigator, had a love for the sub- ject discussed. Mr. Langley sometimes seemed impatient for results, but he was ever forgiving, ever kindly, when he saw his error. I loved him as a friend — aye, as a brother — and I here pay my tribute of affection to this master investigator, who has solved so many of the mysteries of this universe of God's building, and then, reaching down to Mother Earth, tells us in the words inscribed on this tablet erected to his memory — " I have brought to a close the portion of the work which seemed to be specially mine, the demonstration of the practicability of mechanical flight. The great universal highway overhead is now soon to be opened." Professor Langley left the Allegheny Observatory in 1887 to become Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and, later, upon the death of Professor Baird, he was elected Secretary of this Institution. Our friendship remained un- broken and in my visits with him from time to time, that friend- ship was renewed, and he often gave me expressions of his affection for the people of Pittsburgh. During his stay of twenty-four years at the Allegheny Ob- servatory, Professor Langley contributed more than seventy papers to the various American and European scientific journals, and, during his connection with the Smithsonian Institution, he published no less than one hundred contributions pertaining to the various sciences in which he was interested. His work in aviation is now known throughout the world, and the one sad feature of it all is that just as he had reached the point of success with his man-carrying flying machine, the failure of one part of the mechanism wrecked it, and not only brought disaster to the machine, but broke the heart of our dear friend. This would 26 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION not have been so serious, when we consider the work he had already accomplished, for he would willingly have done it all over again, but the unkindly comments of the press over- whelmed him and he could not stand the disappointment. I cannot forget the last half-hour I spent in his ofEce in the Smithsonian Institution, where I had so many pleasant talks with him in past years. He showed me the little piece of apparatus that had broken, deflecting the aerodrome into the Potomac, whereas it should have sailed up into the air. With a sad heart he turned to me and with trembling voice said, " Mr. Brashear, this has wrecked my hopes forever. My life work is a failure." I did all in my power to cheer and comfort him, but it was too late. Soon after that he passed away, and I have often — aye, many, many times — thought of that last sad half-hour spent with him. He was a noble man, and his works, though suddenly cut off by death, will live as long as this old world shall have dwellers upon it. I well remember the evening before he left Pittsburgh to assume his duties as Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Insti- tution. We were standing upon the hillside, overlooking the western horizon. The halcyon days of natural gas had carried much of the smoke away from our city and, as the sun set in all its glory that beautiful evening, that sun he had studied for so many years, he said to me, " Brashear, it is magnificent! " Now that he has gone, and we look over the fields of science where he won his grand but bloodless victories, we can but add our final tribute by repeating those words as to his life's work. It has been magnificent ! ' ' Death makes no conquest of this conqueror, For now he lives in fame, though not in life." Remarks by Secretary Walcott Before closing these exercises I wish to make a short announce- ment. It may be that some of you did not notice in the papers on May i that the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian had decided to take favorable action upon the reopening of the Lang- ley Aerodynamical Laboratory. Sufficient provision has been made to start on the work and continue it in a modest way, and we are in hopes that within a few months investigations under the name of Langley will be carried on which will develop and standardize aeronautical science. Cornell University Library arW3825 An account of the exercises on the occas 3 1924 031 484 201 olin.anx