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Samuel Pierpont Langley :
In the race for flight, Samuel Pierpont Langley (1834-1906) challenged the
Wright brothers. An astronomer, Langley served as Secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution. He built the first heavier-than-air unmanned
flying machine to achieve sustained (though uncontrolled) flight. On
December 8, 1903, Langley attempted to launch his gasoline-powered "Great
Aerodrome," off a houseboat in the Potomac River. Unfortunately, the Great
Aerodrome crashed into the river and was destroyed. Just nine days later,
Orville and Wilbur Wright made history.
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