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.

His parents were Samuel Langley and Mary Williams. On both sides, Langley claimed connection to Boston Brahmans (Mather and Adams families). He recalled later how he and his brother built their own telescope and view the planets and moons.

Langley attended Boston Latin School and became interested in astronomy there. Following his graduation from Boston High School, he found work in mechanical drawing and architectural drawing in the Midwest. But by 1854, he was back in Boston as a telescope manufacturer with his brother. Langley continued his education, mainly on his own, including a European tour. On the basis of his technical skill as telescope-maker and his own education, the Harvard College Observatory hired Langley as an astronomer's assistant. The following year, he was hired by the U.S. Naval Academy in the mathematics department but was given responsibility for maintaining the Academy's observatory.

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

• Baxter, William E. "Samuel P. Langley: Aviation Pioneer." Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution, 2005.
• Hellman, Geoffrey T. The Smithsonian: Octopus on the Mall. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1967.