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In 1876, after the dust from the United States’ first World’s Fair and Centennial Exposition settled on the grounds of Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, the Smithsonian Institution’s collections expanded exponentially. Sixty boxcars filled with art, mechanical inventions, and other materials from many of the 37 countries who participated in the Exposition pulled into Washington, DC as gifts for a brand new museum.
The renovation of the Museum’s Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall helped us uncover and rediscover interesting stories and facts. This is true of the Spirit of St. Louis, the aircraft that Charles Lindbergh famously piloted across the Atlantic.
Still seeking Halloween inspiration? We’re drawing spooky inspiration from our archives. These photos document early attempts at protecting aviators and their support crews. The results, while practical, were often quite creepy.
Today in 1909, Wilbur Wright flew around the Statue of Liberty as part of the New York Hudson-Fulton Celebration, resulting in this historic Harper’s Weekly cover page.
Although her flight is not considered “official,” this day in history we remember Blanche Stuart Scott, the first American woman to take a solo hop into the air.
Today in 1932, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the U.S. nonstop. Earhart piloted her Lockheed Vega 5B from Los Angeles to Newark in a record 19 hours and 5 minutes.
On this day in 1909, some of the world's leading aviators met at a racetrack in Reims, France, to compete in the first organized international air meet.
Today in 1871, aviator and inventor Orville Wright was born to Milton and Susan Catherine Koerner Wright. Orville was the sixth of seven children born to the Wrights.
On August 13, 1911, Matilde Moisant became the second woman in the United States to receive her pilot’s license, just a few weeks after her friend Harriet Quimby.
On this day in 1908, Wilbur Wright publicly demonstrated a Wright aircraft for the first time in Europe at the Hunaudières racecourse at Le Mans, southwest of Paris.