Arthur L. Welsh
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Arthur L. "Al" Welsh (August 14, 1881 – June 11, 1912) was a
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n-born American pioneer aviator who became the first flight instructor for the Wright Brothers. He was killed in an aircrash in 1912.


Early life

He was born as Laibel Welcher on August 14, 1881, in Kiev,
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, 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
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, speaking no English. He attended both public school and Hebrew school there. His father died when he was 13 years old and he was sent to
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, 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 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 several ...
one month after he was discharged and spent four months recovering in a hospital.


Pilot

After his recuperation, Welsh moved back to
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While working as a bookkeeper at a local gas company, Welsh wrote a letter to the Wright brothers after seeing a flight demonstration in
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, but did not receive a job offer with the company. He traveled to
Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...
, 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
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, 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. 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 Testin ...
alongside pioneers Frank Trenholm Coffyn and Ralph Johnstone. 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
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. He set multiple records for flight time and altitude and won several flying competitions. Student George William Beatty 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 in
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 ...
, on a Wright Model C 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 U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
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 ...
''. 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 George William Beatty, who had set up his own flying instruction school on Long Island, replaced Welsh as the government's test pilot at the College Park facility.Igoe, Kate
George W. Beatty Collection
National Air and Space Museum, 1997. Accessed September 6, 2009.


Personal life

Welsh's funeral was held on June 13 at Adas Israel Congregation in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, then an
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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
Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...
, 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 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-billed ...
.


See also

* List of aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents before 1916 * List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft (pre-1925)


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