When a German immigrant named Gustave Whitehead came to America in 1893, he brought with him an inventor's mind and an insatiable desire to be the first person to fly. On a beach in Fairfield County, he may have done just that on August 14, 1901 -- more than two years before the Wright Brothers took flight at Kitty Hawk. Historians debate the accuracy of the accounts of what took place that day, but Gustave Whitehead (who was born Gustave Weisskopf) was certainly among aviation's early pioneers.
Last Sunday, I attended an exhibition at the Discovery Museum in Bridgeport commemorating the 110th anniversary of the event. A delegation from Germany's consular offices came up from New York, along with the president of the European-American Business Organization. . The mayor of Whitehead's hometown, Leutershausen, Germany, joined us via Skype as well. I was happy to join them all and learn more about Gustave Whitehead's effort to be "First in Flight."
Innovation never goes out of style. Those who tinkered day and night to realize mankind's dream of flight were the visionaries of their day, and I am convinced that today's researchers and engineers will keep delivering breakthroughs that help us reach greater and greater heights. We just can't settle for anything less.
To view photos of the Discovery Museum event, click here.