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Acknowledgments because octave chanute had so many intertwining and diverse interests, I knew that I would need help compiling this biography. My husband Jim provided not only help but also constant support throughout this project. Especially in the last three years, Jim’s patience in the various stages of writing, editing, trimming contents, and proofreading was extremely helpful and encouraging . My personal “Advisory Committee” consisted of Albion Bowers (NASA Dryden Flight Research Center); Dr. Gary Bradshaw (professor, Department of Psychology, Mississippi State University); Dr. Leonard C. Bruno (science manuscript historian in the Manuscript Division, Library of Congress); Dr. Tom D. Crouch (senior curator, Aeronautics, Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C.); Dr. Kevin Kochersberger (research associate professor, Virginia Tech, JOUSTER project, Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, Danville, Va.); Dr. Jeffrey Oaks (professor, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Indianapolis); and David Young (retired transportation editor, Chicago Tribune). Without their input, the writing of this biography would have been much more difficult, if not impossible . Especially, I would like to recognize Len Bruno, Tom Crouch, and Jeff Oaks as friends who patiently answered questions and suggested improvements after reading and rereading the text, from start to finish. They were true and valuable mentors in my learning process as a historian. In the final stages of this project, I appreciated the knowledge and expertise of several staff members at the University of Illinois Press, who contributed so much. It all started with my first inquiring telephone call to Laurie Matheson, senior acquisitions editor , and then submitting the first draft of the manuscript. Receiving thoughtful suggestions for improvement made me tackle several rounds of revisions, but eventually the contract was signed. Tad Ringo, senior editor, became the project manager. Other staff members contributed to the design, production, and last, but not least, the promotion of this book. A special thanks goes to each and every one, and I am proud of the final product. To make the book more complete and human, Joseph Hodges and his wife Jean, of Denver, graciously allowed me to look through the Chanute family papers, collected and assembled by Joe Hodges’s mother, Mrs. Elaine Chanute Hodges, and by Octave A. “Ox” Chanute, the two great-grandchildren of Octave Chanute. Many photos in this xvi Acknowledgments book were reproduced from Elaine’s files. My special thanks go to them and to their descendants, who have graciously shared their memories and files. People Who Helped with This Book Because my research stretched over more than a decade, please accept my apologies if I have missed listing the name of someone who was kind in the past. To the best of my knowledge, I have asked all copyright holders for permission, but I would be glad to hear from anyone I may have inadvertently missed. Bart Ryckbosch and John Zukowsky, Art Institute of Chicago; Maxim Avdeev, Sidney, Australia, always available to help with translating articles written in the Russian language; Gary Bradshaw, arguably the first to establish a Web site in 1994 when no one else thought of doing this: a “Virtual Museum covering the invention of the airplane,” http://invention.psychology. msstate.edu/; Larry O’Neal, Baxter Heritage Center, Baxter Springs, Kans.; George Rogge and Gregory Reising, Chanute Aquatorium Society, Gary, Ind.; Jean Conklin, St. Joseph, Mich., who researched Augustus M. Herring for her upcoming book; Center For Research, Chicago, Ill.; Ruth Ports, Chanute, Kans., Office of Tourism ; Joanna Welch, Chanute, Kans. Public Library; Cornell University, Olin Library, Ithaca, N.Y.; Traff Doherty, Glenn Curtiss Museum, Hammondsport, N.Y.; members of the “Date Nail Group”: Cheryl and Charles Johnson, Kila, Mont.; Rolland Meyers, Oakland, Calif., and Charles Sebasta, Caldwell, Tex.; Bob and Lynne Davis, Seymour, Tenn.; Paul Dees, Seattle, Wash., an aeronautical engineer and hang glider pilot who shared his experiences of first building and then flying his Chanute-type reproduction; Judy Brown, Marilyn Chang, John Irwin, Jim Kroll, Lori Swingle, and Brent Wagner, Denver Public Library, with the Pearl I. Young Papers, donated by Elaine Hodges in the early 1970s; Downers Grove, Ill. Public Library, and the staff of the Interlibrary Loan Division ; Franklin County Historical Society, Ottawa, Kans.; Steve Repp, Galena, Ill. Public Library; Jay Dickerson, Galena (Ill.) Gazette; Gene Glendinning, Barrington, Ill., who freely shared his research on the Chicago & Alton Railroad; Patricia Goitein, Peoria, Ill., a longtime friend who shared her knowledge on the Civil War, slavery, and life in Peoria in the nineteenth century; Francis E. Griggs, professor emeritus...

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