James Crawford "Jimmie" Angel (August 1, 1899 December 8, 1956) was an American

United States

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

 aviator

Aviator

An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...

 after whom Angel Falls in Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

, the tallest waterfall

Waterfall

A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...

 in the world, is named.

His birth and early life

James Edward Angel was born August 1, 1899 near Cedar Valley, Missouri, the son of Glenn Davis Angel and Margaret Belle (Marshall) Angel. Because his grandfather, James Edward Angel, was living, he was called Crawford to avoid confusion in the Angel family during his younger years. In his 20s he adopted the nickname Jimmie by which he was known for the rest of his life.

Angel Falls

The falls, which cascade from the top of Auyantepui

Auyantepui

Auyantepui, also Auyantepuy, Auyan-Tepui, or Aiyan-Tepui, is a tepui plateau in the Gran Sabana region of the Bolivar State in Venezuela. It is one of the largest tepuis in the Guiana Highlands, with an area of .Angel Falls, the tallest waterfall in the world, drops from a cleft near the summit...

 in the remote Gran Sabana region of Venezuela, were not known to the outside world until Jimmie Angel flew over them on November 18, 1933 while searching for a valuable ore bed.

On October 9, 1937, Jimmie Angel returned to the falls with the intention of landing. On board his Flamingo 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:...

 that day were his second wife Marie, Gustavo Heny, and Miguel Delgado, Heny's gardener.

Jimmie Angel attempted a landing but despite a successful touchdown, his El Rio Caroní aircraft nose-dived when it hit soft ground at the end of its landing run. The wheels sank in the mud making take-off impossible.

The occupants were unharmed but had to trek across difficult terrain and with low food supplies for 11 days to make their way off the tepui

Tepui

A tepui , or tepuy, is a table-top mountain or mesa found in the Guiana Highlands of South America, especially in Venezuela. The word tepui means "house of the gods" in the native tongue of the Pemon, the indigenous people who inhabit the Gran Sabana....

 and down to the nearest settlement at Kamarata.

When word got out of their exploits, Angel received near-legendary status in Venezuela.

His aircraft remained atop Auyantepui until 1970, when it was disassembled into parts and lifted down by Venezuelan military helicopters. Today an El Rio Caroní can be seen outside the airport terminal at Ciudad Bolívar

Ciudad Bolívar

Ciudad Bolívar is the capital of Venezuela's southeastern Bolivar State. It was founded with the name Angostura in 1764, renamed in 1846, and, as of 2010, had an estimated population of 350,691....

. The airplane was re-assembled in the city of Maracay's aviation museum.

His death

On April 17, 1956, Jimmie Angel suffered a head injury while landing his plane at David, Chiriquí, Panama

Panama

Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

. He soon had a heart attack and suffered from various ailments for 8 months until he came down with pneumonia

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...

 and went to Gorgas Hospital

Gorgas Hospital

Gorgas Hospital was a U.S. Army hospital in Panama City, Panama named for Army Surgeon General William C. Gorgas .Built on the site of an earlier French hospital called L'Hospital Notre Dame de Canal, it was originally christened Ancon Hospital by the Americans. It was originally built of wood,...

 in Panama City

Panama City

Panama is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has a population of 880,691, with a total metro population of 1,272,672, and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, in the province of the same name. The city is the political and administrative center of the...

, where he died on December 8, 1956. His cremated remains were first inurned at the Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation

Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation

The Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation is in Burbank, California. The shrine is a structure of marble, mosaic and sculpted figures, and is the burial site for 13 pioneers of aviation. It was built in 1924 as the entrance to Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery...

 in Burbank, California

Burbank, California

Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....

, but in keeping with his wishes, his wife, his two sons and two of his friends scattered his ashes over Angel Falls on July 2, 1960.

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