John Joseph Montgomery (c. 1858 – October 31, 1911) was an aviation pioneer, inventor, professor at Santa Clara College. On August 28, 1883 he made the first manned, controlled, heavier-than-air flights of the United States, in the Otay Mesa area of San Diego, California (after European pioneers such as George Cayley's coachman in 1853, or Jean-Marie Le Bris in 1856). John Montgomery was issued U.S. Patent #831,173 on September 18, 1906 for his invention of an Aeroplane. He was a member of the Aero Club of Illinois (1910) and member of the research committee of the Technical Board of the New York Aeronautical Society (1911). In 1946, John J. Montgomery's life was portrayed in the movie Gallant Journey starring Glenn Ford and Janet Blair.

Recognition and Honors

Two California Historical Landmarks (#711: Montgomery Memorial, Otay Mesa; #813: Montgomery Hill, San Jose) have been named in his honor as has one section of the Interstate 5 freeway (John J. Montgomery Freeway) in San Diego, California and a recreation center near the location of his first successful glides (Montgomery-Waller Recreation Center, San Diego, California). The Montgomery Memorial in San Diego features a silver static test wing panel for the B-32 Dominator mounted upright that is visible for miles.

At least three California schools have been named in his honor (John J. Montgomery Elementary School, Chula Vista, California; John J. Montgomery Middle School, San Diego, California; John J. Montgomery Elementary School, San Jose, California) and one Civil Air Patrol Squadron (John J. Montgomery Memorial Cadet Squadron 36).

San Diego's Montgomery Field (MYF), one of the busiest airports for small planes in the United States, is named for John J. Montgomery.

John J. Montgomery was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1964 and (the U.S. Soaring Hall of Fame) in 2002.

In 1996, Montgomery's 1883 glider was recognized as an International Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. On March 19, 2005, John J. Montgomery was the focus of a Centennial Celebration of Soaring Flight, held in Aptos, California at the location of some of his early glider experiments.

See also

• Aviation history

Publications

• Montgomery, John J. Discussions on the Various Papers on Soaring Flight Proceedings of the International Conference on Aerial Navigation, Chicago, Aug. 1-4. 1893 pp. 246-249.

• Montgomery, John J. Soaring Flight, manuscript, 1895.

• Montgomery, John J. The Mechanics Involved in a Bird's Wing in Soaring and Their Relation to Aeronautics, Address to the Southern California Academy of Sciences, Los Angeles, Nov. 9, 1897.

• Montgomery, John J. The Aeroplane, The Aeroplane Advertising Co., Santa Clara, CA

• Montgomery, John J. New Principles in Aerial Flight, Scientific American, November 25, 1905.

• Montgomery, John J. Principles Involved in the Formation of Winged Surfaces and the Phenomenon of Soaring, presented at the Aeronautics Congress, New York, Oct. 28-29, 1907. Published in Aeronautics Vol. 3, No. 5, November, 1908.

• Montgomery, John J. Some Early Gliding Experiments in America, Aeronautics, Vol. 4, No. 1, 1909, pp. 47-50.

• Montgomery, John J. Our Tutors in the Art of Flying, Aeronautics, September 22, 1915, pp. 99-100 (article printed postumously).

References

• The Montgomery Aeroplane, Scientific American, May 20, 1904, pp. 404.

• Most Daring Test of Flying-Machine Ever Made, Popular Mechanics, June Vol. 7, No. 6, 1905.

• The Montgomery Aeroplane, Popular Mechanics, July Vol. 7, No. 7, 1905 pp. 703-707.
• Josselyn, Winsor He Flew in 1883, Harper's Magazine, Vol. 181, June, 1940.

• Spearman, Arthur Dunning John J. Montgomery: Father of Basic Flying. Santa Clara University 1967 and 2nd ed. 1977.

External links

• John J. Montgomery: San Diego Historical Society
• John J. Montgomery: Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum
• Biography with photos at flyingmachines.org
• John J. Montgomery: Santa Clara College
• History of John J. Montgomery's flights at Rohnerville

1858 births | 1911 deaths | American aviators | Historic California people | San Diegans | American Gliding