Facts about Thomas Selfridge
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Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge
Quick biographical sketch from Mount Clemens, MichiganThomas Etholen Selfridge, First Lieutenant
His grave, the story, the official report and news stories from 1908The Courage to Step Into the Sky
Tells of Selfridge's commitment and sacrificeTragedy at Fort Meyer
From the Wright Brothers Aeroplane Company and Museum of AviationShare this:
Thomas E. Selfridge Biography
First Lieutenant Thomas E. Selfridge of the United States Army was a pioneer in the development of air travel and the first air crash fatality.
A graduate of the West Point military academy, Selfridge was appointed by President Teddy Roosevelt to observe the flight experiments of Alexander Graham Bell.
In 1907 and 1908 Selfridge worked with Bell’s team on aeronautics designs and piloted Bell’s “June Bug” and “White Wing” aircrafts, the first U.S. soldier to fly an airplane.
On 17 September 1908 Lt. Selfridge took a ride with aviation pioneer Orville Wright over Fort Meyer, Virginia. After about five minutes in the air, the plane crashed, falling from a height of at least 60 feet.
Wright broke a leg and 2 or 3 ribs, but Selfridge suffered a skull fracture and died three hours later. The plane crashed a few hundred feet from Arlington National Cemetery, where Selfridge was buried with full honors.
Extra credit
Selfridge graduated from West Point in 1903, the same year as Douglas MacArthur.