Albert Adams Merrill


Merrill with a model in the wind tunnel.

Born: 23 Oct 1874, Massachusetts, USA

Died: 1 Jun 1952 (aged 77), Los Angeles County, California, USA

Buried: Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum, Altadena, Los Angeles County, California, USA

Occupation: pilot, airplane designer, author

Title: founder of the Boston Aeronautical Society

Language: English

Notable works: The Great Awakening

Spouse: Anna Decatur Merrill

Parents: Sam A. Merrill, Lucy (Uram) Merrill


"First an accountant by trade, Merrill was throughout his lifetime interested in flying. Upon his graduation from high school in 1892 and 11 years before the Wright brothers' first flight, Merrill delivered an essay on aerial navigation, predicting that men would fly in small ships with light, powerful engines within 10 to 15 years. In 1894 he started the Boston Aeronautical Society and in 1911 learned to fly, first at Squantum and later at the Wrights' place in Dayton. At Caltech, Merrill supervised the design, construction and operation of a small wind tunnel. He helped to develop small subsonic wind tunnels that a person could operate alone and held several patents for airplane design."




Merrill at the first Harvard-Boston Air Meet.

Published Works

Novels

Essays / articles



The A.A. Merrill tailless plane, 1914.


(Bibliography: The Caltech Archives, Calisphere , Find a Grave, SF Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, PhilPapers, History Link 101)