theodoreellyson

The individual identified as Hugh Robinson is incorrect. The correct identity is Charles C. Witmer Aero Club of America Pilot # 53 (August 15, 1911) Chicago, Illinois

San Diego, California Sunday January 29, 1911 Lt. Theodore G. Ellyson First flight **** " the flight was short but successful, and is the first ever made by a Naval officer" ( New York Times January 30, 1911) ****"..the flight was witnessed by a large crowd at the Coronado Country Club" ( New York Tribune January 30, 1911) *** ".. witnessed by 10,000 persons on the polo field of the Country Club of Coronado" " Ellyson rose to a height of 15 feet... but only covered about 200 yards." " .. speed estimated at 35 Miles per hour,.." ( San Francisco Call January 30, 1911)

The captioned identity of the aviator in the photo is incorrect, although understandable. It is not Lieutenant "Ellis," but actually Lieutenant Theodore Gordon Ellyson (USN) (b. 1885 - d. 1928). "Spuds" Ellyson was designated "Naval Aviator No. 1". Given the sequence of photos (see the photos of Helene Dutrieu, Earle Ovington, George W. Beatty, Tom Sopwith, etc.), and Ellyson's state of dress, I suspect this photograph was taken at the International Aviation Meet at the Nassau Boulevard Aerodrome on Long Island in September 1911. Here's a flickr photo of Beatty taking off at the meet with Ellyson's hangar in the background: See: query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50913FA3D5813738... AIR GAME THRILLS AERODROME CROWD; Toy Balloons Elude World's Greatest Aviators at International Meet Wikipedia's entry on Ellyson: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Gordon_Ellyson Here are a couple of photos of Ellyson from the era posted at the San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives (on flickr) for comparison:

TVL 1970: Thank you very much for providing the proper identity of Mr. Ellyson, and for linking to sources for verification. We will correct the caption to reflect his correct name. Interestingly, when searching in the Prints and Photographs Online Catalog for other images that might need fixing as well as other images of Ellyson, I ran across a few other images of Ellyson in the Harris & Ewing Collection, another collection which contains early 20th century news photography. Here are those other images of Ellyson if you are interested. Thanks again for the information!

T. G. Ellyson Aero Club of America Pilot# 28. July 2,1911 Curtiss Hydroplane Hammondsport, New York Killed February 27, 1928 Chesapeake Bay crash