Abraham Raygorodsky Explained

Abraham Wladimir Raygorodsky (Ukrainian: Авраам Володимирович Райгородський; June 4, 1884 – ?), nicknamed Aviator Ray, was a Ukrainian-American aviation pioneer.^{[1] [2]}

Biography

Raygorodsky was born into a Jewish family in 1884 in Haisyn in central Ukraine, then in the Russian Empire.^[3] He trained at the Farman flying school in Paris and received his pilot's certificate from the Aero Club of France around 1910. He immigrated to the United States in 1911 and became a citizen in 1919. In 1914, he attempted to win a $50,000 prize from Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe. His Daily Mail aviation prize was for the first transatlantic flight.^{[1] [4]}

In 1916, Raygorodsky announced that his Bridgeport, Connecticut-based company, International Aerial Navigation Co., was going to manufacture planes for $50,000 each, including "aerial ferries" planned for fights from Boston to New York.^[5]

Notes and References

1. News: Preparing for Transatlantic Flight . ... transatlantic prize is Abram Raygorodsky who has the pilot's certificate of the Aero Club of France. Raygorodsky, a Russian who is a naturalized American ... . . February 10, 1914 . 2010-08-20 .
2. Book: Louis Dembitz Brandeis . Louis Dembitz Brandeis . Letters of Louis D. Brandeis . 30 June 1971 . 586 . State University of New York Press . 9781438422565 . ... attention a young Jewish aviator named Raygorodsky. ... .
3. U.S., Passport Applications, 1795–1925
4. News: Raygorodsky to Seek $50,000 Prize with Gigantic Machine of 800 Horse Power. . Abram Raygorodsky, a graduate of the Farman flying school in Paris, who is now living at Mineola, called at the Aero Club of America yesterday to ask for ... . . February 13, 1914 . 2010-08-20 .
5. News: To Make $50,000 Aeroplanes - Connecticut Concern to Build Flying Machines of Great Capacity . April 17, 2024 . The Morning Sun . July 9, 1916 . 4.