Alfred Lawson
| Alfred Lawson | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Alfred William Lawson March 24, 1869 London, England |
| Died | November 29, 1954 (aged 85) San Antonio, Texas |
| Nationality | Born in the United Kingdom, emigrated to Canada, then the United States by 1872 |
| Known for | Baseball, Aviation, Philosophy |
| Al Lawson | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|||
| MLB debut | |||
| May 13, 1890, for the Boston Beaneaters | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| June 2, 1890, for the Pittsburgh Alleghenys | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 0-3 | ||
| Earned run average | 6.63 | ||
| Strikeouts | 3 | ||
| Teams | |||
Alfred William Lawson (March 24, 1869 – November 29, 1954) was a professional baseball player, manager and league promoter from 1887 through 1916 and went on to play a pioneering role in the US aircraft industry, publishing two early aviation trade journals. In 1904, he also wrote a novel, Born Again, clearly inspired by the popular Utopian fantasy Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy, an early harbinger of the metaphysical turn his career would take with the theory of Lawsonomy. He is frequently cited as the inventor of the airliner and was awarded several of the first air mail contracts, which he ultimately could not fulfill. He founded the Lawson Aircraft Company in Green Bay, Wisconsin, to build military training aircraft and later the Lawson Airplane Company in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to build airliners. The crash of his ambitious Lawson L-4 "Midnight Liner" during its trial flight takeoff on May 8, 1921, ended his best chance for commercial aviation success.
He made one start for the Boston Beaneaters and two for the Pittsburgh Alleghenys during the 1890 season. His minor league playing career lasted through 1895. He later managed in the minors from 1905 to 1907.
In 1908 he started a new professional baseball league known as the Union Professional League. The league took the field in April but folded one month later owing to financial difficulties.
An early advocate or rather evangelist of aviation, in October 1908 Mr. Lawson started the magazine Fly to stimulate public interest and educate readers in the fundamentals of the new science of aviation. It sold for 10 cents a copy from newsstands across the country. In 1910, moving to New York City, he renamed the magazine "Aircraft" and published it until 1914. The magazine chronicled the technical developments of the early aviation pioneers. He was the first advocate for commercial air travel, coining the term "airline." He also advocated for a strong American flying force, lobbying Congress in 1913 to expand its appropriations for Army aircraft.
...
Wikipedia