Glenn l martin biography of william

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GLENN LUTHER MARTIN

Born: January 17, 1886    In: Macksburg, IA
Died: December 5, 1955    In: Baltimore, MD

At the time he taught himself to fly in 1909 and 1910, Glenn Luther Martin was a youthful businessman, the owner (at age 22) of Ford and Maxwell dealerships in Santa Ana CA.

Although he had taken courses at Kansas Wesleyan Business College before his family moved west in 1905, he lacked a technical background. His first planes were built in collaboration with mechanics from his auto shop, working in a vacant church building that Martin rented.

In 1909 Martin made his first successful flight; by 1911 he numbered among the most famous of the pioneer aviators.

Never forgetting his original business training, he was not content with simply performing. In 1912, he set up as a manufacturer, incorporating his operation as the Glenn L Martin Aircraft Co.

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