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J. Heron Crosman, III was an aviator who was awarded the Henry L. Doherty Trophy in 1933. This collection consists of a scrapbook kept by Crosman that documents his winning of the Doherty Trophy as well as his other experiences in aviation.
J. Heron Crosman, III was born in 1904 in Pennsylvania, part of a socially prominent family. Crosman graduated from Princeton University in 1928. Crosman learned to fly in 1929 and purchased a de Havilland D.H.60 Moth (tail number NC139M), The Mothball, that year. In 1933, Crosman was awarded the Henry L. Doherty Trophy and a prize purse of $1,000 for winning the leg from Daytona Beach to Miami, Florida of the US Amateur Air Pilots' Association East Coast Cruise from Long Island, New York to Miami. The entire event included several different elements such as aerial treasure hunts and time and distance competition. The East Coast Cruise was one of many aerial competitions created to encourage aviation development in the United States during the 1920s and 1930s. Crosman competed against more than 50 flyers and won with a time of 2 hours and 14 minutes. Crosman later purchased and flew a specially designed Waco F-3 (tail number NC86Y), The Heart-throb.
NASM.2008.0041
Crosman, J. Heron, III
Circa 1930s to 1970s
Elizabeth C. Frederick, Gift, 2008, NASM.2008.0041
0.18 Cubic feet (1 flatbox)
National Air and Space Museum Archives
This collection consists of a leather-bound scrapbook (9.5 x 6.25 inches, 62 filled pages) kept by J. Heron Crosman, III. The scrapbook contains newspaper clippings and photographs relating to Crosman and his family, clippings relating to Crosman's win of the Doherty Trophy, congratulatory telegrams received on the occasion of this win, correspondence, and other mementos. There are also two letters tucked inside to Crosman's daughter, Elizabeth "Trophy" Frederick, from a Waco enthusiast.
Collection is in original order.
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J. Heron Crosman, III Scrapbook, NASM.2008.0041, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Aeronautics
de Havilland D.H.60 Moth Family
Waco Aircraft Family
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scrapbooks