Samuel Pierpont Langley

Samu l Pierpont Langley was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts on August 22, 1834. He was educated in the Boston public schools but taught himself engineering as a young adult. He was an expert in astronomy, physics, and aeronautics and contributed to the knowledge of solar phenomena. He is best known for his attempts to build the first heavier-than-air flying machine. After several years at jobs as a qualified engineer and architect, he went back to his childhood love of studying astronomy and science. He taught mathematics at the U.S. Naval Academy, became director of the Allegheny Observatory, and taught physics and astronomy at the University of Pittsburgh though he had never earned a college degree.

The first ever plane that Samuel Pierpont Langley built. It looked a bit funny but it could fly.