Glenn Curtiss

mechanical failure, he had to persevere through it in order to meet his goal. “But upon hearing of the Wright brothers’ success, Feng turned his attention to aviation, laboriously translating into Chinese anything he could find on the Wrights, Glenn Curtiss and, later, French aircraft designer Henri Farman” (Makesel). Feng being the first in China to be a self taught engineer was a challenge in itself. Furthermore, he was from a different country then the rest of the aviators in America, he had…

Scottish-born American inventor and teacher of the deaf, Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) is best known for perfecting the telephone to transmit vocal messages by electricity. The telephone inaugurated a new age in communication technology. Alexander Graham Bell was born on March 3, 1847, in Edinburgh. His father, Alexander Melville Bell, was an expert in vocal physiology and elocution; his grandfather, Alexander Bell, was an elocution professor. After studying at the University of Edinburgh…

Bessie Colman was one of thirteen children in a poor African American family residing in the southern United States (Onkst). She was born on January 26, 1892 in Texas to a Native American father and an African American mother (Onkst). Her family was facing tough times; racial discrimination was at a high (Onkst). Her father thought it would be best to move to the “Indian Territory” found in Oklahoma, but her mother disagreed (Onkst). Her father moved anyways, as did some of her siblings, but a…

sensation. She was introducing aviation to an entire culture of people and proving that women and minorities were equally skilled and capable in every field of work. At a publicity event, Bessie scheduled her first air show on September 3, 1922. Glenn Curtiss, aviation pioneer, lent Bessie a plane of his own for the show. (Fly girls, American…

How can turning points impact a person’s life and character? A turning point is when life becomes impacted greatly by an event that is either positive or negative. In the autobiography, “I Never Had It Made”, by Jackie Robinson, the memoir, “Warriors Don’t Cry”, by Melba Pattillo Beals, and the article, “Father of Chinese Aviation”, by Rebecca Maskell, each of the individuals faced turning points. Jackie Robinson, Melba Pattillo Beals, and Feng Ru all faced life-changing experiences that changed…