Locomotive to Aeromotive: Octave Chanute and the Transportation Revolution

Preface

Preface gazing up the steps of the United States Capitol, thousands of visitors to Washington, D.C., every day are struck by the grandeur of this symbol of the American people. Nowhere is the pageant of America’s early history so well showcased as inside the Capitol’s great ceremonial rotunda. Sixty feet above its floor, the eight-foot-high frescoed Frieze of American History encircles the rotunda, giving the illusion of a sculptured relief and depicting nineteen scenes, from the “Discovery of America” to the “Birth of Aviation.” Above the rotunda’s west door is the final scene portraying Orville and Wilbur Wright’s first powered airplane flight in 1903 and three of their acknowledged precursors: the Italian Leonardo Da Vinci and two Americans, Samuel P. Langley , secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and Octave Chanute, one of the renowned civil engineers of the nineteenth century, developer of a successful series of gliders and mentor to the Wright Brothers. In this scene Chanute, formally attired with long suit, starched collar, and trademark goatee, holds his Katydid multiplane glider. He stands closest to the Wrights, possibly because of the dates and depth of his aviation involvement but also possibly because of his close and continuing friendship with the brothers. How did Chanute, a self-educated French immigrant, earn a place in the Frieze of American History among others whose names are better known? How did Octave Chanute rise from being a penniless immigrant to rank among the elite American engineers of the nineteenth century? How did he learn from others and then give back by mentoring his juniors? What inspired him to spend a lifetime in transportation and engineering, building world-class structures against a backdrop of dynamic engineering and social change? How did he learn to work with others to achieve what one man alone could not accomplish? Why did he work with the new engineering societies of the nineteenth century to elevate the professionalism of civil engineers? How did he rise to the highest executive ranks of one of America’s largest railroads? How did he capitalize on his early perception of the need to preserve natural resources? Finally, why, when others would have retired to a life of leisure, did he pursue his ultimate transportation passion—aviation—until his final days? How did Octave Chanute become the pivotal person in the Wright Brothers’ quest for powered, controlled flight? Why, when the Wrights flew their powered flight of December 17, 1903, xiv Preface did their sister Katharine immediately wire the news to Chanute, making him the first, and for some time the only, person outside the Wright family to know of the epic event? This book aims to answer these questions and to chronicle the amazingly productive eight decades that earned Octave Chanute a place in the Frieze of American History. “Birth of Aviation.” Frieze of American History, United States Capitol, Washington, D.C. Courtesy Architect of the Capital Collection. ...