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Gustave Whitehead (1874-1927) was born in Hochst am Main, Bavaria. He immigrated to the United States and during the early 1900s experimented with aircraft design. According to his claims, he built several aircraft, which he flew several years before the Wrights' 1903 flight. Whitehead still has a number of followers trying to verify his claims.

 Identifier

NASM.XXXX.0603

Creator

Gibbs-Smith, Charles Harvard, 1909-

Date

1969-1970

Provenance

Charles H. Gibbs-Smith, Gift, unknown, XXXX-0603, Smithsonian Institution

Extent

0.45 Cubic feet ((1 legal document box))

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of manuscripts and articles written by Charles H. Gibbs-Smith, in which he refutes Whitehead's claims. The collection contains the following manuscripts: 'The Flight Claims of Gustave Whitehead,' 'Gustave Whitehead: His Flight-Claims and his Place in History,' 'Gustave Whitehead,' 'Reflections on the Whitehead Claims to Powered Flight in 1902 and 1902,' 'An Open Letter on the Subject of the Flight-Claims of Gustave Whitehead,' and 'The Sorry Affair of Gustave Whitehead and His Alleged Powered Flight.'

Rights

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Restrictions

No restrictions on access

Topics

Wright (Brothers) 1903 Flyer

Aeronautics -- Records

Aeronautics -- pre-1903

Aeronautics

Airplanes -- Design and construction

Type

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Articles

Manuscripts