View source for Thomas Selfridge

{{short description|First person to die in an airplane crash (1908)}}
{{about|the U.S. army lieutenant|his grandfather, the U.S. Navy admiral|Thomas Oliver Selfridge{{!}}Thomas Oliver Selfridge Sr.|his uncle, the U.S. navy admiral|Thomas Oliver Selfridge Jr.}}
{{Infobox military person
|name=Thomas Selfridge
|image=Thomas selfridge smoking pipe.jpg
|caption=Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge (1882–1908)
|birth_date={{Birth-date|February 8, 1882|February 8, 1882}}
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1908|9|17|1882|2|8}}
|birth_place=[[San Francisco]], [[California]], U.S.
|death_place=[[Fort Myer|Fort Myer, Virginia]], U.S.
|death_cause = [[Plane crash]]
|placeofburial=[[Arlington National Cemetery]] Section 3 Gravesite 2158<ref>{{cite web |title=Prominent Military Figures |url=https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/Explore/Notable-Graves/Prominent-Military-Figures |website=Arlington National Cemetery |access-date=28 August 2018}}</ref>
|allegiance={{flag|United States|1896}}
|branch={{army|USA}}|serviceyears=1903–1908
|rank=[[First Lieutenant]]
|unit=[[Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps]]
|relations = [[Thomas Oliver Selfridge|Thomas O. Selfridge Sr.]] (grandfather),<br>[[Thomas Oliver Selfridge Jr.|Thomas O. Selfridge Jr.]] (uncle)
}}

'''Thomas Etholen Selfridge''' (February 8, 1882 &ndash; September 17, 1908) was an [[Americans|American]] [[first lieutenant]] in the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] and the first person to die in an [[Aviation accidents and incidents|airplane crash]]. He was also the first active-duty member of the U.S. military to die in a crash while on duty. He was killed while seated as a passenger in a [[Wright Model A|Wright Flyer]], on a demonstration flight piloted by [[Orville Wright]].<ref name=obit>{{cite news|title=Fatal Fall of Wright Airship; Lieut. Selfridge Killed and Orville Wright Hurt by Breaking of Propeller. Machine a Total Wreck. Increased Length of New Blade and Added Weight of a Passenger Probable Causes. Cavalry Ride Down Crowd Rumor That the Machine Had Been Tampered with Denied by Army Officers – Not Well Guarded|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/09/18/104755152.pdf|quote=Falling from a height of 75 feet, Orville Wright and Lieut. Thomas E. Selfridge of the Signal Corps were buried in the wreckage of Wright's aeroplane shortly after 5 o'clock this afternoon. The young army officer died at 8:10 o'clock to-night. Wright is badly hurt, although he probably will recover.|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 18, 1908|access-date=October 17, 2010}}</ref>

==Biography==
Selfridge was born on February 8, 1882, in [[San Francisco, California]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.macomb.lib.mi.us/mountclemens/selfridge.htm|title=Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge|quote=Thomas E. Selfridge was born in San Francisco on February 2, 1882. Little is known about his early life. He was graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with the Class of 1903. Selfridge ranked 31st in the class of 96 cadets that year; future general Douglas MacArthur was first.|publisher=Mount Clemens Public Library|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070314023015/http://www.macomb.lib.mi.us/mountclemens/selfridge.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date=March 14, 2007}}</ref> He was the nephew of [[Rear Admiral]] [[Thomas Oliver Selfridge Jr.]], who was the son of another Rear Admiral, [[Thomas O. Selfridge|Thomas Oliver Selfridge Sr.]] He graduated from the [[United States Military Academy]] in 1903, and received his commission in the [[United States Army Field Artillery Corps|Artillery Corps]]. He was 31st in a class of 96; [[Douglas MacArthur]] was first. In 1907, when the Artillery Corps was separated into the Field Artillery and Coast Artillery Corps, Selfridge was assigned to the [[5th Field Artillery Regiment]] and the following year to the [[1st Field Artillery Regiment (United States)|1st Field Artillery Regiment]].

Selfridge was stationed at the [[Presidio of San Francisco|Presidio]] during the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|great San Francisco earthquake]] of April 18, 1906. His unit participated in search and rescue, as well as cleanup operations.<ref name="check-six">{{cite web|url=http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/Selfridge.htm|title=The First Fatal Plane Crash… At Fort Myer, Virginia, September 17th, 1908|website=Check-Six.com|date=November 22, 2014}}</ref> In 1907, he was assigned to the [[Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps]] at [[Fort Myer, Virginia]], where he was later instructed in flying a [[Airship|dirigible]]. He was also the United States government representative to the [[Aerial Experiment Association]] (AEA), which was chaired by [[Alexander Graham Bell]], and he became its first secretary.

Selfridge took his first flight on December 6, 1907, on Bell's [[tetrahedral kite]], the ''[[AEA Cygnet|Cygnet]]'', made of 3,393 winged cells. It took him {{convert|168|ft}} in the air above [[Bras d'Or Lake]] in [[Nova Scotia]], Canada, and flew for 7 minutes. This was the first recorded passenger flight of any heavier-than-air craft in Canada.<ref>{{Cite news |last=admin |date=2019-12-17 |title=First Aeroplane Flight in Canada |url=https://ns1763.ca/civil-relics/baddckcrth/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416223218/https://ns1763.ca/civil-relics/baddckcrth/ |archive-date=April 16, 2021 |access-date=2024-03-13 |work=Nova Scotia |language=en-US}}</ref> He also flew a craft built by a Canadian engineer, [[Frederick W. Baldwin]], which flew {{convert|3|ft}} off the ground for a distance of about {{convert|100|ft}}.
[[File:AEA Red Wing (Aerodrome 1).jpg|right|thumb|250px|"Red Wing" aeroplane]]

Selfridge designed ''[[AEA Red Wing|Red Wing]]'', the AEA's first powered aircraft. On March 12, 1908, the ''Red Wing'', piloted by Frederick W. Baldwin, raced over the frozen surface of [[Keuka Lake]] near [[Hammondsport, New York]], on runners, and managed to fly {{convert|318|ft}} before crashing. ''Red Wing'' was destroyed in a crash on its second flight on March 17, 1908, and only the engine could be salvaged.

On May 19, 1908, Selfridge became the first US military officer to pilot a modern aircraft, when he flew solo in AEA's newest craft, ''[[AEA White Wing|White Wing]]'', traveling {{convert|100|ft}} on his first attempt and {{convert|200|ft}} on his second.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.af.mil/information/heritage/person.asp?dec=Early_Years&pid=123020185|title=Thomas Etholen Selfridge|website=www.af.mil|access-date=December 13, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120717062016/http://www.af.mil/information/heritage/person.asp?dec=Early_Years&pid=123020185|archive-date=July 17, 2012}}</ref> Between May 19 and August 3, he made several flights at Hammondsport, culminating in a flight of 1 minute and 30 seconds at a height of {{convert|75|ft}}. The next day, his final solo flight of 50 seconds covered a distance of {{convert|800|yd}}. Although not fully trained as a pilot, Selfridge was nevertheless the first U.S. military officer to fly any airplane unaccompanied.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://newpreview.afnews.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-110421-039.pdf|title=Air Corps News Letter|publisher=Office of the Chief of the Air Corps, War Dept., Washington|volume=XXI|issue=1|date=January 1, 1938|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903213218/http://newpreview.afnews.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-110421-039.pdf|archive-date=September 3, 2015}}</ref>

In August 1908, Selfridge was one of three pilots trained to fly the Army Dirigible Number One, purchased by the [[US Army]] from [[Thomas Scott Baldwin]] in July 1908; his training partners were Lieutenants [[Frank P. Lahm]] and [[Benjamin Foulois]]. The dirigible was scheduled to fly from [[Fort Omaha, Nebraska]], to exhibitions at the [[Missouri State Fair]] in [[Sedalia, Missouri]], piloted by Foulois and Selfridge.The Army had tentatively agreed, however, to purchase an airplane from the [[Wright Brothers]] and had scheduled the acceptance trials in September. Selfridge, with an interest in both heavier-than-air and lighter-than-air ships, obtained an appointment and traveled to [[Fort Myer, Virginia]].

==Death==
[[File:Wright and Selfridge in Wright flyer before flight (MIS 63-720-5), National Museum of Health and Medicine (3323202385).jpg|thumb|right|Selfridge and Orville Wright prior to takeoff on the fatal flight]]
[[File:Fort Myer Wright Flyer crash.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Wreckage of the Wright Flyer that took the life of Tom Selfridge]]
[[File:Attending to a victim of the first fatal aircraft accident (MIS 63-720-11), National Museum of Health and Medicine (3324037278).jpg|thumb|right|Army personnel tending to Thomas Selfridge on stretcher]]
{{wikisource|Fatal fall of Wright airship}}
In September 1908, [[Orville Wright]] visited Fort Myer to demonstrate the [[Wright Model A|1908 Wright Military Flyer]] for the US Army Signal Corps division. On September 17, Selfridge arranged to be his passenger, and Wright piloted the craft. On this occasion, the Flyer was carrying more weight than it had ever done before; the combined weight of the two men was about {{convert|320|lb}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historynet.com/the-first-airplane-fatality-february-01-american-history-feature.htm|title=The First Airplane Fatality: February '01 American History Feature|first=Wyatt|last=Kingseed|quote=The spectators stood momentarily stunned. Then they surged across the field to the plane. The post commander sensed that the situation could get out of hand and ordered a cavalry guard forward to stem the tide. "If they don't stand back," he yelled, "ride them down!"|date=August 19, 2001|website=www.historynet.com|access-date=May 24, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neatorama.com/2013/03/13/Orville-Wright-and-the-First-Person-to-Die-in-an-Airplane/|title=Orville Wright and the First Person to Die in an Airplane|last=Miss Celliana|date=March 13, 2013|website=www.neatorama.com|access-date=May 24, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1950/05/miracle-at-kitty-hawk-unpublished-letters-of-the-wright-brothers-part-i/306537/|title=Miracle at Kitty Hawk: Unpublished Letters of the Wright Brothers (Part I)|date=May 1950|magazine=[[The Atlantic]]|access-date=May 24, 2018}}</ref>

The Flyer circled Fort Myer {{frac|4|1|2}} times at a height of {{convert|150|ft}}. Halfway through the fifth circuit, at 5:14 in the afternoon, the right-hand propeller broke, losing thrust. This set up a vibration, causing the split propeller to hit a [[guy-wire]] bracing the rear vertical rudder. The wire tore out of its fastening and shattered the propeller; the rudder swiveled to the horizontal and sent the Flyer into a nose dive. Wright shut off the engine and managed to glide to about {{convert|75|ft}}, but the craft hit the ground nose-first.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/28878483/|title=Wilbur Wright Weeps. Aviator's Brother Grieved by Fatal Accident. Deplores Officer's Death. First Thought Is Safety of Passengers, He Says, When News of Orville's Mishap at Fort Myer Reaches Him in France. Countermands Orders for Flights, to Regret of Waiting Crowd|quote=[[Le Mans, France]], September 18, 1908. [[Wilbur Wright]], brother of Orville Wright, and who has been conducting a series of experiments here for several weeks with a Wright aeroplane, was very much perturbed when he heard this morning the news from Washington that his brother had suffered an accident, in which Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge lost his life.|date=September 19, 1908|newspaper=[[Washington Post]]|url-access=registration|access-date=June 5, 2018}}</ref> Both men were thrown forward against the remaining wires, and Selfridge struck one of the wooden uprights of the framework, fracturing the base of his skull. He underwent neurosurgery, but died three hours later without regaining consciousness.<ref name=obit/> Wright suffered severe injuries, including a broken left femur, several broken ribs, and a damaged hip, and was hospitalized for seven weeks.

Orville Wright later described the fatal accident in a letter to his brother, [[Wilbur Wright]]:

{{Quote|On the fourth round, everything seemingly working much better and smoother than any former flight, I started on a larger circuit with less abrupt turns. It was on the very first slow turn that the trouble began. ... A hurried glance behind revealed nothing wrong, but I decided to shut off the power and descend as soon as the machine could be faced in a direction where a landing could be made. This decision was hardly reached, in fact, I suppose it was not over two or three seconds from the time the first taps were heard, until two big thumps, which gave the machine a terrible shaking, showed that something had broken. ... The machine suddenly turned to the right and I immediately shut off the power. Quick as a flash, the machine turned down in front and started straight for the ground. Our course for 50&nbsp;feet was within a very few degrees of the perpendicular. Lt. Selfridge up to this time had not uttered a word, though he took a hasty glance behind when the propeller broke and turned once or twice to look into my face, evidently to see what I thought of the situation. But when the machine turned head first for the ground, he exclaimed 'Oh! Oh!' in an almost inaudible voice.}}

Two photographs taken of the Flyer just prior to the flight show that Selfridge was not wearing any headgear, while Wright was only wearing a cap.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/this-picture-taken-at-fort-myer-virginia-on-september-17-news-photo/517317820#this-picture-taken-at-fort-myer-virginia-on-september-17-1908-shows-picture-id517317820|title=Thomas E. Selfridge and Orville Wright (1 picture)|date=September 17, 1908|website=[[Getty Images]]|access-date=October 2, 2017|language=en-US}}</ref> Following the crash, due to speculation that Selfridge would have survived had he worn headgear, first pilots of the US Army were instructed to wear large heavy headgear reminiscent of early [[football helmet]]s.{{citation needed|date=May 2018}}

Thomas Selfridge was buried in [[Arlington National Cemetery]] in Section 3 Gravesite 2158, adjacent to Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall.<ref name="check-six"/>

==Legacy==
{{Unreferenced section|date=June 2018}}
[[Selfridge Air National Guard Base]] is named after him.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Selfridge Air National Guard Base |url=https://www.127wg.ang.af.mil/About-127th-Wing/Fact-Sheets/Article/443603/selfridge-air-national-guard-base/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.127wg.ang.af.mil%2FAbout-127th-Wing%2FFact-Sheets%2FArticle%2F443603%2Fselfridge-air-national-guard-base%2F |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240313133737/https://www.127wg.ang.af.mil/About-127th-Wing/Fact-Sheets/Article/443603/selfridge-air-national-guard-base/ |archive-date=March 13, 2024 |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=127th Wing |language=en-US}}</ref> The base is located in [[Harrison Township, Michigan]], near [[Mount Clemens, Michigan|Mt. Clemens]], 22 miles from downtown [[Detroit|Detroit, Michigan]] (from the US Port of Entry at the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel).

Though buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Selfridge is memorialized by a large [[cenotaph]] in Section XXXIV of [[West Point Cemetery]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=1LT Thomas Etholen Selfridge |url=https://militaryhallofhonor.com/honoree-record.php?id=3063 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220628025009/https://militaryhallofhonor.com/honoree-record.php?id=3063 |archive-date=June 28, 2022 |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=militaryhallofhonor.com}}</ref>

The damaged propeller of the Wright Flyer wrecked at Fort Myer can be viewed at the [[National Museum of the United States Air Force]], at [[Wright-Patterson Air Force Base]], in [[Dayton, Ohio]].

In 1965, Selfridge was posthumously inducted into the [[National Aviation Hall of Fame]] in Dayton, Ohio. <ref>{{cite web |title=Enshrinee Thomas Selfridge |url=https://nationalaviation.org/enshrinee/thomas-etholen-selfridge/ |website=nationalaviation.org |publisher=National Aviation Hall of Fame |access-date=28 February 2023}}</ref>

A gate between Arlington National Cemetery and Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, located roughly halfway between the two chapels on Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, is named Selfridge Gate, in his honor.

==See also==
*[[List of fatalities from aviation accidents]]
*[[List of firsts in aviation]]
*[[Otto Lilienthal]], glider death
*[[Percy Pilcher]], glider crash
*[[Daniel J. Maloney]], glider death
*[[George E. M. Kelly]], first American military pilot to die in an airplane crash while piloting
*[[Eugene Lefebvre]], first pilot to be killed

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
*''[[Washington Post]]''; May 13, 1908 "Selfridge Aerodrome Sails Steadily for 319 Feet. At 25 to 30 miles an Hour. First Public Trip of Heavier-than-air Car in America. Professor [[Alexander Graham Bell]]'s New Machine, Built After Plans by Lieutenant Selfridge, Shown to Be Practicable by Flight Over [[Keuka Lake]]. Portion of Tail Gives Way, Bringing the Test to an End. Views of an Expert. [[Hammondsport, New York]], March 12, 1908. Professor Alexander Graham Bell's new aeroplane, the [[AEA Red Wing|Red Wing]], was given its test flight over Lake Keuka today by [[F. W. Baldwin]], the engineer in charge of its construction. The machine was built by the Aerial Experiment Association for Lieut. Thomas Selfridge, U.S.A."
*''[[Washington Post]]''; May 2, 1909 "Plans Monument to Son. E.A. Selfridge to Erect Shaft to Young Aviator in Arlington. E.A. Selfridge, father of the late Lieut. Thomas Selfridge, of the signal corps, the young officer who lost his life September 19 last when the Wright aeroplane collapsed in midair above the Fort Myer parade ground, has been in the city for several days to arrange the details for the monument to be erected to the memory of his son in [[Arlington National Cemetery]]."

== External links ==
{{commonscat|Thomas Selfridge}}
* {{Cite web | title = Photographs of first powered aircraft fatal crash | date = 2 March 2009 | url = https://www.flickr.com/photos/medicalmuseum/sets/72157614637207273/detail/ | access-date = August 6, 2009   }}
* {{Find a Grave|2293}}
* {{Cite web | title = Selfridge Field and the beginnings of air power | url = http://info.detnews.com/history/story/index.cfm?id=33&category=government | access-date = May 19, 2005 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://archive.today/20060224090219/http://info.detnews.com/history/story/index.cfm?id=33&category=government | archive-date = February 24, 2006 }}
* {{Cite web | title = Frederick W. (Casey) Baldwin | url = http://www.earlyaviators.com/ebaldwin.htm | access-date = May 19, 2005   }}
* {{Cite web | title = A Most Noble Experiment | url = http://www.aerofiles.com/aea.html | access-date = May 19, 2005   }}
* {{Cite web | title = Aviation in Canada 1938 | url = http://www.rootsweb.com/~canbrnep/aviincan.htm | access-date = May 19, 2005   }}
* {{Cite web | title = History of Selfridge | url = http://www.selfridge.army.mil/History.htm | access-date = May 19, 2005 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050206164931/http://www.selfridge.army.mil/History.htm | archive-date = February 6, 2005 }}
* {{Cite news |first=Charles E |last=Ramirez |title=Remembering Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge |url=http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080916/METRO03/809160375/1014/rss03 |work=[[Detroit News]] |publisher=Detroit News |access-date=2008-09-16 }}
*[http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/rights-managed/42-22416215/thomas-selfridge-and-wright-brothers-prepare-for-?popup=1 Thomas Selfridge sits in Wright Flyer before the fatal flight, Orville cranking engine]

{{Aviators killed in early aviation accidents}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents before 1920}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States before 1930}}
{{Alexander Graham Bell}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Selfridge, Thomas Etholen}}
[[Category:1882 births]]
[[Category:1908 deaths]]
[[Category:Accidental deaths in Virginia]]
[[Category:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[Category:American balloonists]]
[[Category:American test pilots]]
[[Category:American military personnel killed in action]]
[[Category:Aviation history of the United States]]
[[Category:Aviators from California]]
[[Category:Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States]]
[[Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery]]
[[Category:National Aviation Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:1906 San Francisco earthquake survivors]]
[[Category:United States Army officers]]
[[Category:United States Military Academy alumni]]
[[Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1908]]
[[Category:Victims of flight test accidents]]
[[Category:Wright brothers]]
[[Category:20th-century American military personnel]]