Arthur L. "Al" Welsh (August 14, 1881 – June 11, 1912) was a

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

n-born

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

pioneer aviator who became the first flight instructor for the Wright Brothers. He was killed in an

aircrash An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the ''intention of fl ...

in 1912.

Early life

He was born as Laibel Welcher on August 14, 1881, in

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

, which was then part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

. He was one of six children of Abraham and Dvora Wellcher. In 1890, the family emigrated to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, speaking no English. He attended both public school and

Hebrew school Hebrew school is Jewish education focusing on topics of Jewish history, learning the Hebrew language, and finally learning their Torah Portion, in preparation for the ceremony in Judaism of entering adulthood, known as a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Hebr ...

there. His father died when he was 13 years old and he was sent to Washington, D.C., to live with relatives shortly after his mother remarried. He was a top student who did best in math and mechanics, and was excellent at swimming. He changed his surname to "Welsh" when he joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

as a 20-year-old, expecting greater success in the Navy with a name that did not sound "too Jewish". He received an

honorable discharge A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...

after a tour of duty that lasted four years. He contracted

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over severa ...

one month after he was discharged and spent four months recovering in a hospital.

Pilot

After his recuperation, Welsh moved back to Washington, D.C. While working as a bookkeeper at a local gas company, Welsh wrote a letter to the Wright brothers after seeing a flight demonstration in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

, but did not receive a job offer with the company. He traveled to

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County, Ohio, Greene County. The 2020 United S ...

, convinced that he could make a positive impression in person. The brothers gave him a job in the

Wright Company The Wright Company was the commercial aviation business venture of the Wright Brothers, established by them on November 22, 1909, in conjunction with several prominent industrialists from New York and Detroit with the intention of capitalizing o ...

's new flying exhibition division, even though he did not have the experience they were looking for. He began his orientation with the Wright Company in Dayton and traveled to the company's winter flying location in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County, Alabama, Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the Gulf Coastal Plain, coas ...

, where he showed strong potential as a pilot with Orville as his instructor. Called back to Dayton, he was asked to help establish the company's flight school at

Huffman Prairie Huffman Prairie, also known as Huffman Prairie Flying Field or Huffman Field is part of Ohio's Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park. The 84-acre (34-hectare) patch of rough pasture, near Fairborn, northeast of Dayton, is the place w ...

. He worked there as an instructor and

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...

alongside pioneers

Frank Trenholm Coffyn Frank Trenholm Coffyn (October 24, 1878 – December 10, 1960) was a pioneer aviator. Biography He was born in Charleston, South Carolina on October 24, 1878 to Julia (Haskell) and George M. Coffyn, a banker. His brother was William Henry Co ...

and

Ralph Johnstone Ralph Greenley Johnstone (September 18, 1880 – November 17, 1910) was the first American person to die while piloting an airplane that crashed. He and Archibald Hoxsey were known as the "heavenly twins" for their attempts to break altitud ...

. There he taught students including

Hap Arnold Henry Harley Arnold (June 25, 1886 – January 15, 1950) was an American general officer holding the ranks of General of the Army and later, General of the Air Force. Arnold was an aviation pioneer, Chief of the Air Corps (1938–1941), ...

, who would become a five-star general leading the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He set multiple records for flight time and altitude and won several flying competitions. Student

George William Beatty George William Beatty (August 28, 1887 – February 20, 1955) was an American pioneer aviator who set early altitude and distance records, including one record set on the same day that he flew his first solo flight. Early life Beatty was born ...

flew his

first solo flight The first solo flight is when a new airplane pilot completes a takeoff, and usually a short flight and safe landing, by themselves. Flying such a flight is a milestone known as soloing. Being solo pilot of an aircraft is different from most othe ...

on July 23, 1911, and that same day flew as a passenger with Welsh to establish a new American two-man altitude record of 1,860 feet, one of Welsh's many such records.

Death

Welsh died in a crash on June 11, 1912, while flying with Leighton Wilson Hazelhurst, Jr. at the

United States Army Aviation School The U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence, formerly known as the Army Aviation Center and School, is the United States Army Aviation Branch's headquarters and training and development center, located at Fort Rucker, Alabama. It coordinates a ...

College Park, Maryland College Park is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and is approximately four miles (6.4 km) from the northeast border of Washington, D.C. The population was 34,740 at the 2020 United States Census. It is best known a ...

, on a

Wright Model C The Wright Model C "Speed Scout" was an early military aircraft produced in the United States and which first flew in 1912. It was a development of the Model B but was specifically designed to offer the Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps a ...

that had recently been purchased by the

Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps The Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps, Appendix 2 (1907–1914) was the first heavier-than-air military aviation organization in history and the progenitor of the United States Air Force. A component of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, the Aeronaut ...

. The

United States Army Signal Corps The United States Army Signal Corps (USASC) is a branch of the United States Army that creates and manages communications and information systems for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was established in 1860, the brainchild of Ma ...

had established a series of ten acceptance tests for the aircraft, and Welsh and Hazelhurst were taking the Model C on a climbing test, the next to last in the series required by the Army. Shortly after takeoff, the plane pitched over while making a turn and fell to the ground, killing both crew members. They had both been ejected from their seats, with Welsh suffering a crushed skull and Hazelhurst a

broken neck A cervical fracture, commonly called a broken neck, is a fracture of any of the seven cervical vertebrae in the neck. Examples of common causes in humans are traffic collisions and diving into shallow water. Abnormal movement of neck bones or pie ...

. ''

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'' described Welsh as "one of the most daring professional aviators in America" and his flying partner Hazelhurst as being among the "most promising of the younger aviators of the army". A board of inquiry was formed by the

United States Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the President of the United States, U.S. president's United States Cabinet, Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's Presidency of George Washington, administration. A similar position, called either "Se ...

Henry Lewis Stimson, which concluded that Welsh was at fault in the crash, having risen to 150 feet, with the plan to dive at a 45-degree angle in order to gain momentum for a climb, but had made the dive too soon, with the board's results reported in the June 29, 1912, issue of ''

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it i ...

''. In a 2003 interview, a cousin of Welsh's reported the family's belief that the tests were run too rapidly and that Welsh was doomed to fail by carrying too much fuel and a passenger, giving a craft that would be unable to make the planned maneuver with the weight it was carrying. Former student

, who had set up his own flying instruction school on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, replaced Welsh as the government's test pilot at the College Park facility.Igoe, Kate
George W. Beatty Collection

National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...

, 1997. Accessed September 6, 2009.

Personal life

Welsh's funeral was held on June 13 at Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, D.C., then an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...

synagogue, with services led by the congregation's

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

Joseph Glushak. The funeral was attended by Orville Wright and his sister Katharine, who had traveled from

, and who were still in mourning for their brother Wilbur, who had died less than two weeks earlier. Welsh was buried at the Adas Israel Cemetery in the Douglass neighborhood of Washington, D.C.Thum, Robert
"The first Jewish aviator"
'' The Dayton Jewish Observer'', 2003. Accessed August 5, 2009. Welsh was survived by his wife Annie, who died in 1926, and by their two-year-old daughter Ailene. His daughter lived into her 90s, living in England and adopting the name Abigail, but keeping the last name Welsh. In a 2003 interview she recalled the warmth and kindness of members of what she called the "Wright Circle", and how she had crawled through the legs of Hap Arnold as a toddler when he visited the family home. She expressed her regret that "I wish I had known my father. I heard so many good things about him." In his 1949 book ''Global Mission'', Hap Arnold credited Welsh with having "taught me all he knew, or rather, he had taught me all he could teach. He knew much more." Welsh grew up in the same Washington D.C. neighborhood,

Southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

, as another Russian immigrant, Asa Yoelson, later better known as the singer

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jews, Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-bi ...

References

External links

Arthur L. Welsh
at

Early Aviators Gallery The Early Birds of Aviation is an organization devoted to the history of early pilots. The organization was started in 1928 and accepted a membership of 598 pioneering aviators. Membership was limited to ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Welsh, Arthur L. 1881 births 1912 deaths Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States People from Philadelphia People from Washington, D.C. United States Navy sailors Wright brothers United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces pilots Wright Flying School alumni Accidental deaths in Maryland American aviation record holders Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1912