John Joseph Montgomery

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John Joseph Montgomery

John Joseph Montgomery (b. 15 February 1858, d. 31 October 1911) was an aero inventor, a physicist, engineer, and professor at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California, who is best known for his invention of controlled heavier-than-air flying machines.[1]

Montgomery saw an exhibition of the Avitor, an aircraft constructed by Frederick Marriott, in 1869 at Sam Francisco. Montgomery's sister later said he constructed a 8-inch model of the Avitor with tiny wheels. His father, Zachariah Montgomery, was a politician who became U.S. Attorney General in 1885. He received a B.Sc. in 1879, and an M.S. in physics, from Saint Ignatius College in San Francisco.[2]

After graduation he began working on aircraft at the family ranch near San Diego. After several failures he produced a working glider in 1884 and continued to make different varieties. He believed he had discovered the secret to flight—but chose to keep it secret. Later accounts of his work, including his own, and those of Victor Lougheed, are a bit unreliable. In 1917 Montgomery's heirs sued the Wright brothers.[3]

Montgomery attended the Aeronautical Navigation Conference at 1893 World's Fair and lectured on the currents of air immediately surrounding the leading edge of an airfoil.[4]

He was elected vice president of the Santa Clara Valley Aero Club in 1911.[5]


Patents whose inventor or applicant is John Montgomery or John J. Montgomery or John Joseph Montgomery

Publications by or about John Montgomery or John J. Montgomery or John Joseph Montgomery

Letters sent by John Montgomery or John J. Montgomery or John Joseph Montgomery

Letters received by John Montgomery or John J. Montgomery or John Joseph Montgomery

John Montgomery (or John J. Montgomery or John Joseph Montgomery) participated in these events:

References

  1. John Joseph Montgomery on English Wikipedia
  2. Crouch, 1981, pp. 88–89.
  3. Crouch, 1981, pp. 89–95.
  4. Berriman, 1913, Aviation, p. 211.
  5. Craig S. Harwood; Gary B. Fogel. 2012. Quest for Flight: John J. Montgomery and the Dawn of Aviation in the West. University of Oklahoma Press: Norman, OK

Major sources:

  • Craig S Harwood; Gary B. Fogel. 2012. Quest for Flight: John J. Montgomery and the Dawn of Aviation in the West. University of Oklahoma Press: Norman. This book is a nice and very substantial biography of John J. Montgomery and has a lot of information about his letters and patents. Our wiki page about the book is here: Harwood and Fogel, 2012.
  • w:John Joseph Montgomery


Names John Joseph Montgomery
Birth date 1858-02-15
Death date 1911-10-31
Countries US
Locations Santa Clara, California, San Diego, California
Occupations professor, engineer, physicist
Tech areas HTA
Affiliations Santa Clara University, Santa Clara Valley Aero Club
Wikidata id