Roland Rohlfs (February 10, 1892 – February 28, 1974) was an American

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

Biography

Roland Rohlfs was born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

on February 10, 1892, the son of

Anna Katharine Green Anna Katharine Green (November 11, 1846 – April 11, 1935) was an American poet and novelist. She was one of the first writers of detective fiction in America and distinguished herself by writing well plotted, legally accurate stories. Green ...

, the

crime novel Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

ist; and

Charles Rohlfs Charles Rohlfs (February 15, 1853 – June 30, 1936), was an Americans, American actor, Patternmaker (engineering), patternmaker, stove designer and furniture maker. Rohlfs is a representative of the Arts and Crafts Movement, and is most f ...

, the

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and furniture craftsman. Rohlfs flew a hydro-aeroplane called the "Dunkirk Fighter" for

Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company (1909 – 1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer originally founded by Glenn Hammond Curtiss and Augustus Moore Herring in Hammondsport, New York. After significant commercial success in its first decades ...

in 1918. Later that year he broke the

flight airspeed record An air speed record is the highest airspeed attained by an aircraft of a particular class. The rules for all official aviation records are defined by Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), which also ratifies any claims. Speed records ...

while flying a Curtiss Wasp, his speed was clocked at 163.1 mph (262.4 km/h). In 1919 he broke another world record when he flew to an altitude of 34,610 feet in a Curtiss L-3 triplane (at - 47 degrees Fahrenheit). He died on February 28, 1974.

References

1892 births 1974 deaths American aviation record holders Members of the Early Birds of Aviation People from Buffalo, New York {{Aviation-bio-stub

Biography

See also

References