Giuseppe Mario Bellanca
Encyclopedia
Giuseppe Mario Bellanca (March 19, 1886 – December 26, 1960) was an Italian-American airplane designer and builder who created the first enclosed cabin monoplane
Monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with one main set of wing surfaces, in contrast to a biplane or triplane. Since the late 1930s it has been the most common form for a fixed wing aircraft.-Types of monoplane:...

 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in 1922. This aircraft is now on display at the National Air & Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum 's annex at Washington Dulles International Airport in the Chantilly area of Fairfax County, Virginia, United States....

.

Biography

He was born on March 19, 1886 in Sciacca, Italy. He graduated with an engineering degree from Politecnico di Milano. He emigrated to Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

 in the United States in 1911.

In 1921 he moved to Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...

, and with Victor Roos
Victor Roos
Victor H. Roos was an American founder of several aircraft companies, including Cessna aircraft.- Early life :In 1917 Roos was a distributor of Harley Davidson pedal cycles in Omaha, Nebraska becoming one of the largest distributors in the Midwest....

, formed the Roos-Bellanca Aircraft Company. On July 4, 1927 he was featured on the cover of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...

.

In that year, he entered into a partnership with Charles A. Levine and formed the Columbia Aircraft Corp
Columbia Aircraft Corp
The Columbia Aircraft Corp was a United States aircraft manufacturer, which was active between 1927 and 1947.-Formation and operations:Columbia Aircraft was founded in December 1927 by Charles A. Levine as chairman and the aircraft designer Giuseppe Mario Bellanca as president. The initial name...

.

On April 25, 1927 Clarence Chamberlin and Bert Acosta
Bert Acosta
Bertrand Blanchard Acosta was a record setting aviator. With Clarence D. Chamberlin they set an endurance record of 51 hours, 11 minutes, and 25 seconds in the air. He later flew in the Spanish Civil War in the Yankee Squadron. He was known as the Bad Boy of the Air...

 set a new world's non-refueled endurance record in the WB-2.

In 1941 Bellanca became the head of the aviation department at Higgins Industries, Inc., in New Orleans. He designed cargo aircraft
Cargo aircraft
A cargo aircraft is a fixed-wing aircraft designed or converted for the carriage of goods, rather than passengers. They are usually devoid of passenger amenities, and generally feature one or more large doors for the loading and unloading of cargo...

  during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. In 1954 he formed the Bellanca Development Company.

He died from leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...

 at Memorial Hospital
Memorial Hospital
Memorial Hospital can refer to many hospitals.Some include:* Memorial Hospital in Massachusetts* Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island...

 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

on December 26, 1960.
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