Aero Club of Washington DC
On 23 Jan. 1909 the organizational meeting of the Aero Club of Washington was held in the office of General Allen, the chief signal officer of the U.S. Army. Two days later, the articles of incorporation were drawn and filed in the District of Columbia. The club's goals, which remain unchanged to this day, include to: foster and promote interest in the principles and development of aeronautics; extend honors and hospitalities to eminent airmen; arrange for lectures and demonstrations; [and] encourage and arrange for national and international competitions, conventions, congresses and exhibitions. Several women were among the charter members. The Aero Club of America approved affiliation on 15 Sept. 1909. Records of the club at the Library of Congress span the years 1909-1921, with the bulk being 1909-1912.
The organizational committee of the Aero Club of Washington, announced in December 1908, included Dr. Albert F. Zahm, Brig. Gen. James Allen, Augustus Post of the Aero Club of America, and R. McLennan. After a tentative organization on 2 Jan. 1909 under a preliminary committee of Washingtonians headed by Allen, the club organized fully on 24 Jan. 1909, electing Truman H. Newberry (the Secretary of the Navy) as president.; Robert Shaw Oliver (asst. sec. of war), Thomas Nelson Page, and Rep. Butler Ames, VPs; Dr. Allerton G. Cushman and Dr. Zahm, secretaries; and Charles. J. Bell, treasurer. Newberry declined the position and Thomas F. Walsh was elected president at the next meeting, 13 May 1909.[1] The officers were all reelected at the annual meeting 10 Jan. 1910. Alexander Graham Bell was a member. The first public function was a luncheon and reception at the Cosmos Club on 10 June 1909 in honor of Orville and Wilbur Wright and the ACA that was followed by a ceremony at the White House where President Taft presented medals from the ACA to the Wrights. 150 members were reported in January 1910 and there was said to be a waiting list to join. 114 members reported in June 1910.
One source says Jerome S. Fanciulli was a founding member of this club.[2]
The Aero Club of Baltimore formed on 30 Sept. 1909 and on 1 October representatives of the Baltimore and Washington clubs met to discuss jointly hosting the 1910 Gordon Bennett aviation race and selected a site at College Park, Maryland, to propose to the ACA for the meet. The committees representing the two-clubs in this venture amalgamated in October 1909. (Possibly the GB race was held in College Park.) The Aero Club of Washington was invited to enter a balloon in the August 1910 Harvard-Boston Aero Meet.
Affiliated with ACA on 15 Sept. 1909.
- Address, 1910-1919, was 415 Union Trust Building, Washington, D.C.
References
- ↑ Names of members of the organizing committee and of charter members were published in the Washington Post 8 Jan. 1910.
- ↑ https://www.utdallas.edu/library/specialcollections/hac/general/Fanciulli.pdf
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| Organization names | Aero Club of Washington; Aero Club of Washington DC |
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| Entity type | |
| Country | US |
| City | Washington, DC |
| Affiliated with | ACA |
| Scope | Local |
| Started aero | 1909 |
| Ended aero | still exists |
| Keywords | |
| Key people | Albert F. Zahm, James Allen, Augustus Post, R. McLennan, Truman H. Newberry, Robert Shaw Oliver, Thomas Nelson Page, Butler Ames, Allerton G. Cushman, Charles. J. Bell, Thomas F. Walsh, Alexander Graham Bell |
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