Captain Homer Washington Hedge (September 29, 1863, Norwich, Connecticut – September 10, 1909) was a wealthy advertising executive in New York City. He helped to found both the Automobile Club of America (currently known as the American Automobile Association) and the

Aero Club of America The Aero Club of America was a social club formed in 1905 by Charles Jasper Glidden and Augustus Post, among others, to promote aviation in America. It was the parent organization of numerous state chapters, the first being the Aero Club of New ...

. He was an avid

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and competed in the sport of balloon racing.

Biography

At the age of 25, in 1888, Hedge joined the First Signal Corp. of the

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in New York City. He worked out of their recruiting office until 1898. By the end of this period, he had risen to the rank of captain. He was referred to as "Captain" for the remainder of his life. Hedge managed the Manhattan offices of Pettingill & Company, a large New York advertising agency. In April 1904, he purchased the New York offices, and it became the Homer W. Hedge Company. At the time, this was one of the largest advertising agencies in the U.S. Their customers included Equitable Life Insurance, the

Electric Vehicle Company Electric Vehicle Company was an American automobile holding company and early pioneering manufacturer of automobiles. History The Electric Vehicle Company was founded September 27, 1897 as a holding company of battery-powered electric vehicle ...

, and the

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. On June 7, 1899, a group of gentlemen auto racers met at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan and founded the

Automobile Club of America The Automobile Club of America was the first automobile club formed in America in 1899. The club was dissolved in 1932 following the Great Depression and declining membership. History On June 7, 1899, a group of gentlemen auto racers met at the W ...

, an organization that became the American Automobile Association. At that meeting, Homer W. Hedge was elected secretary, a post he retained for one year. In 1905, Hedge became Founder and first President of the

. Hedge was the author of a book on ballooning, The American Aeronaut (1907).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hedge, Homer 1863 births 1909 deaths American advertising executives People from Norwich, Connecticut American Automobile Association