American pilot Eugene Ely made aviation history by becoming the first man to land on and take off from the deck of a ship. He later received the distinguished flying cross...
American pilot Eugene Ely made aviation history by becoming the first man to land on and take off from the deck of a ship. Kathleen Hanser tells his story
Eugene Burton Ely was born on a farm in Iowa in 1886 and was mechanically inclined from an early age. He became intrigued by the newly invented automobile and learned to take apart engines and put them back together again before the age of 16. Ely worked as a chauffeur to a priest, driving him around Iowa at breakneck speed until he crashed the $3,000 Franklin car.