Arthur P. Warner Explained

Arthur Pratt Warner
Birth Date:18 April 1870
Birth Place:Jacksonville, Florida
Death Place:Beloit, Wisconsin
Known For:Invented the first automobile speedometer; first to fly in Wisconsin
Occupation:Inventor, businessman, aviator

Arthur Pratt Warner (April 18, 1870, Jacksonville, Florida – March 22, 1957, Beloit, Wisconsin) was an American inventor, businessman and pioneer aviator. His inventions include the electric brake and, along with his brother, the automotive speedometer.[1] [2]

He was the first American private citizen to purchase an airplane,[1] [3] [4] the "first commercially built airplane".[5] He paid Glenn Curtiss $6000 for a disassembled one.[2] [4] Once he had assembled it (without instructions or manuals), he became the first person to fly in Wisconsin, at Beloit on November 4, 1909.[3] [4] He got 50feet off the ground and traveled a quarter mile (0.4 km).[2] This also made him the eleventh American pilot.[3]

A self-taught engineer, with his brother Charles he invented the first automobile speedometer, which made him rich.[2] The Warner Instrument Co. was incorporated in 1903, with Warner as vice president and general manager.[6] In 1912, he sold his speedometer company for $1.2 million.[2] In 1917, the Warner Manufacturing Co. came into existence, with Warner as president, to make automobile and truck trailers.[6] Inventions that he developed in connection with this business included the electric brake and power clutch.[2] He retired in 1934.[6]

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Notes and References

  1. Web site: Hall of Fame Inductees: Arthur P. Warner . Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame . September 16, 2012.
  2. News: First state flight to be commemorated in Beloit . Meg Jones . . November 3, 2009 .
  3. Web site: State of Wisconsin: 2009 Assembly Joint Resolution 37 . Wisconsin Legislative Documents . September 16, 2012.
  4. Web site: Wisconsin Celebrates Centennial of Flight . Experimental Aircraft Association . October 29, 2009 . September 16, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130224135235/http://eaa.org/news/2009/2009-10-29_centennial.asp . February 24, 2013 .
  5. Web site: Curtiss-Wright Timeline . Curtiss-Wright Flow Control Company . September 16, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120221030316/http://www.cwfc.com/About_Us/spokes/history2.htm . February 21, 2012 . dead .
  6. Web site: Warner, Arthur Pratt 1870 - 1957 . Wisconsin Historical Society . September 16, 2012.