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Randolph Fordham Hall (1896- ) was an aeronautical engineer and inventor. He began work as a draftsman at the Thomas Brothers Airplane Co (1915-16) and moved to Standard Aeronautical Corp as an engineer (1917) when World War I interrupted. He enlisted in the United States Air Service Technical Service (1917-19), advancing to the rank of Sergeant First Class. During this time he attended the American Expeditionary Forces University in Dijon, France, where he earned degrees in mathematics and mechanical engineering. He returned to the United States, taking a position as assistant engineer at the Thomas Morse Aircraft Corp (1920-28) before joining Francis E. Cunningham and James C. Dryer to form Cunningham-Hall Aircraft Corp (1928-32, 1933-41). He left Cunningham-Hall to join Bell Aircraft Corp (1941-59) where he remained until he retired. Hall received over forty patents during his career, including a patent for a High Lift Wing which flew on Cunningham-Hall's entry in the Guggenheim Safe Airplane Competition of 1929.

Identifier

NASM.XXXX.0169

Creator

Hall, Randolph Fordham, 1896-

Date

1917-1970

bulk 1920-1941

Provenance

Theodore A. Hall, gift, unknown, XXXX-0169, unknown

Extent

2.18 Cubic feet ((2 records center boxes))

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

Scope and Contents

This collection contains Hall's personal and professional papers. The material consists of his correspondence, photos, and scrapbooks, as well as patent and patent infringement files.

Rights

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests

Restrictions

No restrictions on access

Topics

Aeronautics

Aeronautics, Commercial -- United States

Periodicals

Type

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Correspondence

Diaries

Photographs

Publications

Patents

Maps