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 flight in the Otay Mesa area of San Diego, California. San Diego's Montgomery Field (MYF), one of the busiest airports for small planes in the United States, is named for John J. Montgomery. In 1946, John J. Montgomery's life was portrayed in the movie Gallant Journey starring Glenn Ford and Janet Blair. 1858 is a common year starting on Friday. ... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining, as the final day of October. ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... ... Santa Clara University is a private, co-educational Roman Catholic university in the United States. ... August 28 is the 240th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (241st in leap years), with 125 days remaining. ... 1883 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Nickname: Americas Finest City Motto: {{{motto}}} Official website: http://www. ...

Two California State Landmarks (#711: Montgomery Memorial, Otay Mesa; #813: Montgomery Hill, San Jose) are named in his honor as is 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).

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

Honors and Awards

• U.S. Patent #831,173 filed April 26, 1906, issued September 18, 1906 to J.J. Montgomery for Aeroplane.
• Member of The Aero Club of Illinois, 1910.
• Member, research committee, Technical Board of the New York Aeronautical Society, 1911.
• Member, National Aviation Hall of Fame, Inducted 1964.
• 1883 glider recognized as an International Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 1996.
• Member, United States Soaring Hall of Fame, Inducted February 8, 2002.
• Focus of Centennial Celebration of Soaring Flight, held in Aptos, California, March 19, 2005.

See also

• Aviation history

Icarus and Daedalus Humanitys desire to fly probably dates back to the first time prehistoric man observed birds as illustrated in the legendary story of Daedalus and Icarus. ...

References

• 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

• 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.

• 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.

• Death of Professor John J. Montgomery, Aeronautics, November, 1911, pp. 151-154.

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

• Josselyn, Winsor He Flew in 1883, Harper's Magazine, Vol. 181, June, 1940.

• Spearman, Arthur Dunning, S. J. "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
• National Aviation Hall of Fame
• The Soaring Hall of Fame