Samuel Pierpont Langley
American physicist, pioneer of aviation, and 3rd Secretary of the Smithsonian (1834-1906)
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- Momentum0.4
- Wikipedia3.1K
United StatesHe invented the bolometer and ran the Smithsonian, but the attention comes from being an aviation pioneer who nearly got there first — before the Wright brothers made him a footnote.
About
Samuel Pierpont Langley was born August 22, 1834, and became a professor of astronomy at the University of Pittsburgh, where he directed the Allegheny Observatory. He invented the bolometer, a device for measuring radiant energy, and rose to become the third secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. His work as an aviation pioneer placed him at the center of early flight experiments in an era when powered heavier-than-air machines seemed impossible. He died February 27, 1906, a physicist and astronomer whose name survives in the shadow of those who flew days after his attempts failed.
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- WikipediaHigh confidencewikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
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