Glenn L. Martin

Glenn L. Martin
Glenn L. Martin in pusher-biplane, circa 1912 (note the newspapers stacked on wing; Martin delivered newspapers as a part of his promotional efforts to fund his first plant)
Born	Glenn Luther Martin January 17, 1886 Macksburg, Iowa
Died	December 5, 1955(1955-12-05) (aged 69) Baltimore, Maryland
Known for	Aviation pioneer
Awards	Daniel Guggenheim Medal (1940)

Glenn Luther Martin (January 17, 1886 – December 5, 1955) was an American aviation pioneer. He designed and built his own aircraft and was an active pilot. He founded his own aircraft company in 1912 which today through several mergers is amalgamated into the Lockheed Martin company.

Glenn L. Martin was born in Macksburg, Iowa, on January 17, 1886 to Minta and Clarence Martin. At the age of two, Martin's family moved to Salina, Kansas, so that his father could run a wheat farm. By age six, he became interested in kites, but at first his friends made fun of box-kites he built. When the kites flew well, people paid him twenty-five cents to build one for them. He turned his mother's kitchen into a "factory" to produce more kites. Martin also began using sails on everything from ice skates to wagons, and even his bicycle to move faster with less effort.

He attended and studied business at Kansas Wesleyan in Salina, Kansas. In 1933, he received an honorary Bachelor of Science degree from Kansas Wesleyan University.

As he grew up, he became fascinated with flight, first with kites, then later the Wright brothers' airplane. In 1909 he decided to build one himself based on the Curtiss June Bug, but it was destroyed on the first test flight. For his next effort, Martin used silk and bamboo in the aircraft's construction. This airplane made a short flight. Martin was often assisted by his mother Minta Martin holding a lamp in the building of his first few airplanes.

On May 10, 1912, Martin flew a self-built seaplane from Newport Bay, California to Avalon on Catalina Island, then back across the channel. This broke the earlier English Channel record for over-water flight. Martin's total distance was 68 miles (109 km), with the Newport-Avalon leg taking 37 minutes. He picked up a bag of mail on the island on the way, and was presented with $100 ($2300 in 2011) prize for his achievement. In 1913, Martin was not as fortunate while competing in the Great Lakes Reliability Cruise, a 900 miles (1,400 km) race of seaplanes around the Great Lakes. Martin's pontoon hit a wave at high speed and low altitude, causing the plane to somersault, and sink to the bottom with Martin, who escaped and attempted to salvage the plane to finish the race.