Charles Herbert Colvin (March 4, 1893 – July 3, 1985) was an aeronautical engineer who was the co-founder of the

Pioneer Instrument Company The Pioneer Instrument Company was an American aircraft component manufacturer. History The Pioneer Instrument Company was started by Morris Maxey Titterington and Brice Herbert Goldsborough in Brooklyn, New York in 1919 using patents from the ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, with Brice Herbert Goldsborough and Morris M. Titterington.

Biography

Colvin was born in Sterling, Massachusetts, in 1893 to Fred Herbert Colvin (1867-1965) and Mary K. Loring (1869-?). He co-founded the

in 1919, and sold the company in 1929 to the

Bendix Corporation Bendix Corporation is an American manufacturing and engineering company which, during various times in its existence, made automotive brake shoes and systems, vacuum tubes, aircraft brakes, aeronautical hydraulics and electric power systems, av ...

. In the early 1950s, he started Colvin Laboratories, which manufactured aeronautical instruments, in

East Orange, New Jersey East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 69,612. The city was List of municipalities in ...

. He retired from business in 1963. He married Bessie Colvin Davis (c1900-1956). After her death he married Marjorie Colvin Babcock. He had four children from his first marriage, two daughters, Margaret Colvin Tropp of Woodland Hills, California, and Elizabeth Colvin Davis of

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

, and two sons, David ("Gene") Colvin, of

Old Lyme, Connecticut Old Lyme is a coastal town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The main street of the town, Lyme Street, is a historic district with several homes once owned by sea captains. Lyme Academy of Fine Arts is located in Old Lyme and ther ...

, and Roger Colvin; a stepdaughter, Dagny Sellorin of

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

; a brother, Henry Colvin, of

Medford, New Jersey Medford is a township in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township's population was 24,497, an increase of 1,464 (+6.4%) from the 2010 census count of 23,033,Ojai, California Ojai ( ; Chumash: ''’Awhaỳ'') is a city in Ventura County, California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara. The valley is part of the east–west trending Western Transverse Ranges and is ...

, after a long illness. He was 92 years old and had been living in Ojai.

Patent

* May 6, 1935; "Improvements in navigating and calculating apparatus for aircraft"

References in periodicals

*''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''; June 2, 1927; "Maker Holds Faith in Byrd's Compass; Colvin Asserts It Was Tested and He Cannot Account for Reported Failure. Charles H. Colvin, President of the

of Brooklyn, manufacturer of the earth inductor compass used in all recent transatlantic flights, declared yesterday that the compass trouble experienced by Commander

Richard E. Byrd Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer and explorer. He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the highest honor for valor given by the United States, and was a pioneering American aviator, p ...

of the America during the early part of his trip to France had been anticipated, but he expressed himself as somewhat bewildered by reports that the compasses had failed to function correctly during a large part of the flight." *''The New York Times''; August 11, 1933; "A leading New Jersey deal yesterday was the sale of an eight-acre property on Egbert Hill,

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

, by the

Morris County Savings Bank Morris may refer to: Places Australia *St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Manitob ...

. The place was owned for some years by Livingston Whitney and later by Mrs. Roy C. Cool. It has now been purchased by Charles H. Colvin through Eugene V. Welsh, broker in the deal." *''The New York Times''; January 22, 1945; "Colvine Heads Air Group; Elected President of Institute of Aeronautical Sciences." *''The New York Times''; August 11, 1945; "

Arthur E. Raymond Arthur Emmons Raymond (March 24, 1899 in Boston Massachusetts – March 22, 1999 in Santa Monica, California) was an aeronautical engineer who led the team that designed the DC-3. Raymond grew up in Pasadena, California, the son of the owner of a ...

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, vice president of the

Douglas Aircraft Company The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer based in Southern California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas; it then operated as ...

, has been elected president of the

Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of t ...

, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, for 1946, succeeding Charles H. Colvin of New York, it was announced yesterday." *''

''; July 14, 1985
Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colvin, Charles Herbert American aerospace engineers 1893 births 1985 deaths People from Sterling, Massachusetts 20th-century American engineers