Lewis Archer Boswell
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Lewis Archer Boswell (May 9, 1834 – November 26, 1909) was an early
aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot a ...
pioneer who some believe made the first powered
heavier-than-air flight An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines. ...
, before the Wright Brothers.


Biography

Born May 9, 1834 in
Lunenburg County, Virginia Lunenburg County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,936. Its county seat is Lunenburg. History Lunenburg County was established on May 1, 1746, from Brunswick County. The county ...
, Boswell went to study at
Thomas Jefferson University Thomas Jefferson University is a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. To signify its heritage, the univer ...
and later
Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
, earning his
medical degree A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...
. During the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, he worked as a
Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
surgeon in Richmond, Virginia. In 1868 Boswell began experimenting in aeronautics, but supposedly threw his small model into the
Yazoo River The Yazoo River is a river in the U.S. states of Louisiana and Mississippi. It is considered by some to mark the southern boundary of what is called the Mississippi Delta, a broad floodplain that was cultivated for cotton plantations before th ...
that same year. It is unknown why he did this, although speculation points to the purpose of hiding his plans or ending local ridicule. He moved to Eastaboga,
Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
in 1869 with his new wife, where he was granted a patent for an in 1874. While he continued his study until his death on November 26, 1909, it is unknown if he ever built a full-scale model and attempted flight. In 1900, he wrote a letter to the
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 ...
, asking for funding and promising results, but it was rejected. Locals in his area have made claims that he actually did fly in November 1902, beating the Wright Brothers by a year. In fact, at the time of his death, Boswell was pursuing lawsuit against them, but this action was never carried through by his estate. Other stories tell that he made a short flight after being rolled off a barn roof back in the mid-1890s. However, no conclusive proof has surfaced to support these claims.


Legacy

In 2002, the local
airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
in
Talladega, Alabama Talladega (, also ) is the county seat of Talladega County, Alabama, United States. It was incorporated in 1835. At the 2020 census, the population was 15,861. Talladega is approximately east of one of the state’s biggest cities, Birmingham. ...
was renamed Boswell Field in honor of the local aviator, and according to the Airport Board Chairman, if Boswell made the first heavier than air flight, that would make Boswell Field the first airport.


See also

* Wright Brothers *
Early flying machines Early flying machines include all forms of aircraft studied or constructed before the development of the modern aeroplane by 1910. The story of modern flight begins more than a century before the first successful manned aeroplane, and the earl ...


References


Alabama Aviator


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boswell, Lewis Archer 1834 births 1909 deaths Aviation inventors 19th-century American inventors People from Lunenburg County, Virginia People from Eastaboga, Alabama Confederate States Army surgeons