Samuel P. Langley

Samuel Pierpont Langley (1834-1906) was a professor of astronomy and physics and the director of the Allegheny Observatory at the Western University of Pennsylvania. He was also appointed the third Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

He also developed a heavier-than-air powered aircraft that flew well in tests. However, when launched with pilot Charles Manly aboard, the machine crashed on take-off. Had it flown, Langley would have preceded the Wright Brothers' flight by weeks.

This aircraft was resurrected by Glenn Curtis in 1914 as his defense against the Wright Brothers' patent infringement suit against him.

References Hellman, Geoffrey T. The Smithsonian: Octopus on the Mall. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1967.