Albert Francis Zahm
Encyclopedia
Albert Francis Zahm was an early aeronautical experimenter, a professor of physics, and a chief of the Aeronautical Division of the U.S. Library of Congress
.
He testified as an aeronautical expert in the 1910–14 lawsuits between the Wright brothers
and Glenn Curtiss
.
who alleged patent infringement against inventor and manufacturer Glenn Curtiss
. His testimony took over a month.
He testified on behalf of the Curtiss after declining to testify for the Wrights. There is considerable controversy on this point, as other sources (see T. Crouch, THE BISHOP'S BOYS, p. 422) report that the Wrights refused to pay Zahm to appear as an expert witness while the Curtiss interests did so with alacrity.
Zahm had been on friendly terms with both sides previously but became a long term adversary of the Wrights during and after the trial. Indeed, he worked closely with Glen Curtiss on the controversial 1914 flying tests of the (substantially rebuilt and modified) Langley Aerodrome in an attempt to prove that Langley's machine (and not the Wrights')was the first one "capable" of flying with a man aboard (see R. Hallion, TAKING FLIGHT, pp. 292-293).
He testified that earlier experimental gliders
and glider designs and publications, before those of the Wrights,
had included a variety of monoplane and biplane designs, with horizontal and vertical rudders, and steering concepts of ailerons and wing warping.
There were complex technical issues, notably whether Curtiss's airplanes used a vertical rudder and ailerons in ways that closely matched those aspects of the Wright patent which were legally protected. Numerous experts testified on both sides and sometimes contradicted one another on matters of fact.
In the end judge John R. Hazel
ruled in Feb. 1913 for the Wrights, and on appeal a higher court agreed with this decision in 1914.
Zahm became the chief of the Aeronautical Division at the Library of Congress
from 1929 or 1930 until 1946, and held the Guggenheim Chair of Aeronautics there.
He died in 1954, and was buried in the Community Cemetery, Notre Dame, Indiana.
He wrote the book Aerial Navigation (1911), and a booklet called Early Powerplane Fathers.
His papers are kept by the University of Notre Dame.
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
.
He testified as an aeronautical expert in the 1910–14 lawsuits between the Wright brothers
Wright brothers
The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903...
and Glenn Curtiss
Glenn Curtiss
Glenn Hammond Curtiss was an American aviation pioneer and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle then motorcycle builder and racer, later also manufacturing engines for airships as early as 1906...
.
Time line of early life and work in aeronautics
- Received A.B., University of Notre DameUniversity of Notre DameThe University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
, Indiana, 1883, A.M., 1885, M.S. 1890; M.E. Cornell UniversityCornell UniversityCornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, 1892; Ph.D., Johns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins UniversityThe Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
, 1898. - Professor of Mathematics, University of Notre Dame 1885-1889, mathematics and mechanics, 1890-1892.
- He attended the early International Conferences on Aerial Navigation in 1893 and 1900.
- He was a professor of mechanics (physics) at the Catholic UniversityCatholic UniversityA Catholic University is a private university run by the Catholic Church or by Catholic organizations like religious institutes. Those with closer ties to the Holy See are called pontifical universities....
of America, from 1895 apparently until 1913-1914 (but one source says only till 1908). - In 1901, as part of a pioneering aeronautical laboratory, Zahm built a wind tunnel with financing from Hugo Mattullah. It operated until 1908.
- He joined the Aero Club of AmericaAero Club of AmericaThe Aero Club of America was a social club formed in 1905 by Charles Glidden and others to promote aviation in America. It was the parent organization of numerous state chapters, the first being the Aero Club of New England. It thrived until 1923, when it transformed into the National Aeronautic...
shortly after it was founded, in 1905. - Zahm's 1911 book Aerial Navigation described the historical development of experimental aircraft that led to functional airplanes.
Testimony in Wrights vs. Curtiss
Zahm testified as an aeronautical expert in the 1910-1913 patent lawsuits by the Wright brothersWright brothers
The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903...
who alleged patent infringement against inventor and manufacturer Glenn Curtiss
Glenn Curtiss
Glenn Hammond Curtiss was an American aviation pioneer and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle then motorcycle builder and racer, later also manufacturing engines for airships as early as 1906...
. His testimony took over a month.
He testified on behalf of the Curtiss after declining to testify for the Wrights. There is considerable controversy on this point, as other sources (see T. Crouch, THE BISHOP'S BOYS, p. 422) report that the Wrights refused to pay Zahm to appear as an expert witness while the Curtiss interests did so with alacrity.
Zahm had been on friendly terms with both sides previously but became a long term adversary of the Wrights during and after the trial. Indeed, he worked closely with Glen Curtiss on the controversial 1914 flying tests of the (substantially rebuilt and modified) Langley Aerodrome in an attempt to prove that Langley's machine (and not the Wrights')was the first one "capable" of flying with a man aboard (see R. Hallion, TAKING FLIGHT, pp. 292-293).
He testified that earlier experimental gliders
Glider aircraft
Glider aircraft are heavier-than-air craft that are supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against their lifting surfaces, and whose free flight does not depend on an engine. Mostly these types of aircraft are intended for routine operation without engines, though engine failure can...
and glider designs and publications, before those of the Wrights,
had included a variety of monoplane and biplane designs, with horizontal and vertical rudders, and steering concepts of ailerons and wing warping.
There were complex technical issues, notably whether Curtiss's airplanes used a vertical rudder and ailerons in ways that closely matched those aspects of the Wright patent which were legally protected. Numerous experts testified on both sides and sometimes contradicted one another on matters of fact.
In the end judge John R. Hazel
John R. Hazel
John Raymond Hazel was a United States jurist and politician, best known for administrating the swearing in ceremony of then Vice President Theodore Roosevelt as the 26th President of the United States...
ruled in Feb. 1913 for the Wrights, and on appeal a higher court agreed with this decision in 1914.
Later years
Zahm became the chief research engineer of Curtiss Aeroplane Company in 1914-1915 and then the director of the U.S. Navy's Aerodynamical Laboratory, 1916-1929.Zahm became the chief of the Aeronautical Division at the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
from 1929 or 1930 until 1946, and held the Guggenheim Chair of Aeronautics there.
He died in 1954, and was buried in the Community Cemetery, Notre Dame, Indiana.
Honors
- He was invited to be a member of the Cosmos ClubCosmos ClubThe Cosmos Club is a private social club in Washington, D.C., founded by John Wesley Powell in 1878. In addition to Powell, original members included Clarence Edward Dutton, Henry Smith Pritchett, William Harkness, and John Shaw Billings. Among its stated goals is "The advancement of its members in...
of Washington, DC, and received his mail there while on the faculty of Catholic University. - Recipient of Laetare medal at University of Notre Dame, 1925.
- Awarded the Mendel Medal at Villanova College in 1930 for his pioneering work in scientific aeronautics.
- Daniel Guggenheim Chair of Aeronautics in the Library of Congress, 1929-1946.
Publications, bibliography and archival information
More than 100 of his articles and papers were collected in Aeronautical papers 1885-1945 of Albert F. Zahm, volumes I and II.He wrote the book Aerial Navigation (1911), and a booklet called Early Powerplane Fathers.
His papers are kept by the University of Notre Dame.