Lt selfridge biography
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INDIAN ARMED FORCES CHIEFS ON OUR RELENTLESS AND FOCUSED PUBLISHING EFFORTS
Air travel today is generally a swift and comfortable affair. Apart from a handful afflicted by the ‘fear of flying’ syndrome, most passengers are a relaxed and happy lot, with every expectation of safely reaching their desired destination. It was not always so. During the early years, aviation was slow and irksome. As aviators struggled to overcome the numerous problems of powered flight there was no room for fear.
Many were the young pilots who lost their lives as they repeatedly braved the poorly understood hazards of the air. Most flights ended rather abruptly following some technical glitch and supporting staff were always at hand to get the flimsy contraptions airworthy again and render medical assistance if necessary. Passengers showed great courage because they had very little assurance that they would return to earth in one piece. And the first person to make the supreme sacrifice in a powered aircraft was Thomas Selfridge – a passenger.
Little is known about the early life of Thomas Etholen Selfridge apart from the fact that he was born on February 8, 1882, in San Francisco. He graduated from the US Military Academy in 1903 and received a commission in the Field Artillery as f
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Thomas Selfridge
First person to die in an airplane crash (1908)
This article is about the U.S. army lieutenant. For his grandfather, the U.S. Navy admiral, see Thomas Oliver Selfridge Sr. For his uncle, the U.S. navy admiral, see Thomas Oliver Selfridge Jr.
Thomas Etholen Selfridge (February 8, 1882 – September 17, 1908) was an Americanfirst lieutenant in the U.S. Army and the first person to die in an airplane crash. He was also the first active-duty member of the U.S. military to die in a crash while on duty. He was killed while seated as a passenger in a Wright Flyer, on a demonstration flight piloted by Orville Wright.[2]
Biography
[edit]Selfridge was born on February 8, 1882, in San Francisco, California.[3] He was the nephew of Rear AdmiralThomas Oliver Selfridge Jr., who was the son of another Rear Admiral, Thomas Oliver Selfridge Sr. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1903, and received his commission in the Artillery Corps. He was 31st in a class of 96; Douglas MacArthur was first. In 1907, when the Artillery Corps was separated into the Field Artillery and Coast Artillery Corps, Selfridge was assigned to the 5th Field Artillery Regiment and the following year to the 1st Field Artillery Regiment.
Selfridge w
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Lt. Thomas Selfridge
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