blériot

Earle Lewis Ovington (December 20, 1879 - 1936) was an American aeronautical engineer, aviator and inventor, and served as a lab assistant to Thomas Edison. Ovington piloted the first official airmail flight in the US in 1911, from Garden City, New York to Mineola, New York. He delivered 640 letters and 1,280 postcards, including a letter to himself from the United States Postal Service designating him as "Official Air Mail Pilot #1." Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earle_Ovington Frank Harris Hitchcock (October 5, 1867 – August 25, 1935), was chairman of Republican National Committee from 1908 to 1909. He was then Postmaster General of the United States under President William Howard Taft from 1909 to 1913. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Harris_Hitchcock The plane is instantly recognizable as a Blériot XI. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bl%c3%a9riot_XI

Other Bain/LOC photos of Earle Lewis Ovington, the first U. S. Airmail pilot:

Photo taken Nassau Boulevard Aerodrome Garden City, Long Island, New York. Notice hangars, helpful in identifying Nassau Boulevard Aerodrome

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earle_Ovington

I have found his date of birth and middle name from a passenger list, and added it to the Wikipedia entry. According to the 1930 US census he was married to "Adeliade", and they married in 1907. In 1930 he listed his job as a "land subdivider" in Santa Barbara, California. In a few more days I can have Adeliade's maiden name if they married in Illinois. I found his son: Earle Kester Ovington (1912-2006) using the census and the Social Security Death index. Too bad we didn't start this a few years earlier and talk to his son. For several other articles in Wikipedia I found the children alive and had them scan photos and send me a copy of the death certificate and I recorded their memories. I interviewed 5 people so far for other entries. I just got his death date from his obituary. See the Wikipedia entry for the new details. I have added them there. Has the LOC considered setting up an oral history project to go along with these photos? Earle Lewis Ovington (December 20, 1879 - 1936) was an American aeronautical engineer, aviator and inventor, and served as a lab assistant to Thomas Edison. Ovington piloted the first official airmail flight in the US in 1911, from Garden City, New York to Mineola, New York. He delivered 640 letters and 1,280 postcards, including a letter to himself from the United States Postal Service designating him as "Official Air Mail Pilot #1." Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earle_Ovington

Great research. Thanks for all the effort

Other Bain/LOC photos of Earle Ovington, the first U. S. Airmail pilot:

The machine on the picture is the prototype Blériot 115 four-engined biplane, civil registered as F-ESBB. The pilots were seated side-by-side in the open air and eight passengers could be carried. The engine configuration of four engines was a speciality of the Blériot firm, who had this form patented during WW1. The essence was that by mounting the four engines close to the fuselage, stability would improve and the machine could remain in the air with just two engines running. Engines fitted were four Hispano-Suiza 8Ac eight-cylinder vee water-cooled engines of 180 hp each. The machine was first flown on May 9, 1923 but was not very successful, only one other sample was built.

Thank you for that info!