Glenn Hammond Curtiss was a world famous aviation pioneer before becoming a land developer in South Florida. Born in 1878 in Hammondsport, New York, Curtiss was a contemporary of the Wright Brothers. Like them, he was interested in bicycles as a young man, and opened a bicycle repair shop in 1900. Intrigued by speed, Curtiss turned to motorcycles and designed a machine with a lightweight, high-power engine. He founded the G.H. Curtiss Manufacturing Company in New York in 1902, and began producing the Hercules motorcycle. After setting world records for motorcycle racing (he became the “fastest man in the world” in 1907 when he sailed past all previous records at a speed of 136.36 MPH on a motorcycle of his own invention on Ormond Beach, FL), his company drew the attention of aeronautical

experimenters. In July 1904, Captain Thomas Scott Baldwin used a Curtiss two-cylinder engine to power the first successful dirigible to fly in the United States, the California Arrow.

The “Hammondsport Boys.” Glenn Curtiss and Tank Waters in 1896 doing what they loved best, bicycle racing, which rivaled baseball as America’s national sport. They were boyhood cycling friends and later became business partners in bicycle & motorcycles.

Glenn Curtiss married Lena Pearl Neff on March 7, 1898, a sawmill superintendent’s daughter. She was his closest confidant and friend.

Famed inventor Alexander Graham Bell invited Curtiss to join the Aerial Experiment Association (AEA) in 1907. Curtiss turned to airplanes after Bell’s man-carrying motorized kite was deemed a failure. Curtiss became an enthusiastic flyer, and after the AEA disbanded in 1909, established his own airplane company in Hammondsport, New York. The second airplane company that Curtiss established, the Curtiss Aeroplane Company, became the world’s largest aircraft manufacturer during World War I. earning Curtiss the title of “Father of American Aircraft Manufacturers.” The most widely produced model during the war was Curtiss’s JN-4, “Jenny,” used to train US pilots. Additionally, he developed an airplane that could land on water for the US Navy and teaching the first US Naval aviators to fly, becoming the “Father of Naval Aviation.” After a business set-back, the Curtiss Aeroplane & Motor Company was formed with a Wall Street syndicate, with Curtiss as president. The Curtiss NC-4 “Flying Boat” crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1919, making the first transatlantic crossing in the history of our country. When the company underwent major financial reorganization in 1920, Curtiss relocated to southern Florida and extended his efforts to real estate. As William M. Leary wrote in American National Biography, “Curtiss stands in the forefront of American aeronautical pioneers, second only to the Wright brothers in historical significance.”

In South Florida, Curtiss, in partnership with James Bright, developed the towns of Country Club Estates (now Miami Springs), Hialeah and Opa-locka during the “land boom” of the 1920s, while continuing to pursue his intense interests in aviation. Curtiss established the first flying service schools (both land and sea) at Miami’s first municipal airport and donated the land for Miami’s first airport. He also donated land in Opa-locka to the US Navy for an air base, which is now the Opa-locka Airport, and received the

Distinguished Flying Cross for his efforts and contributions. The Curtiss-Wright Hanger No.2 at the original Miami Municipal Airport was the place of departure for the famed female aviator Amelia Earhart.

On July 4, 1908, Curtiss completed the first leg of the Scientific American Trophy by piloting the June Bug 5,090 feet and making the first officially-recognized and publicly-viewed flight in America. A year later, Curtiss won the second leg of the trophy in 1909 by flying 24.7 miles and establishing a new world record in the Golden Flyer.

Glenn H. Curtiss is considered the “Architect of Aviation,” “The Henry Ford of Aviation,” “Father of American Aircraft Manufacturing,” and “Father of Naval Aviation.” His contributions to aviation history in this country are unparalleled. Glenn H. Curtiss was designated a Great Floridian by the State of Florida’s Secretary of State in 2000, and has been labeled “an incurable Florida addict.” Despite his short

lifetime, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by the US Congress for his work during World War I and is credited with 400 patents and over 500 inventions.

Glenn Curtiss is known as “The Father of Naval Aviation” for his joint efforts with the US Navy and his pioneering designs of the seaplane and flying boats that allowed for take off and landing on naval ships.