1. Cromwell Dixon was a teenage dirigible pilot and aviator.
21 Facts About Cromwell Dixon
1. 2.
Cromwell Dixon became the first person to fly an airplane across the Continental Divide in September 1911 when he flew fifteen miles over Mullan Pass.
3.
Cromwell Dixon was born in San Francisco July 9,1892, to Annie and Charles P Dixon.
4.
From an early age, Dixon showed a knack for mechanics.
5.
At the age of ten, Cromwell Dixon invented a roller coaster for the neighborhood kids; in 1903 he built his own motorcycle.
6.
When he was 14, Cromwell Dixon visited the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St Louis.
7.
Cromwell Dixon attached a bicycle frame to the bag and geared the sprocket wheel to a propeller.
8.
Cromwell Dixon named his airship the Moon and made his first flight on June 10,1907.
9.
Cromwell Dixon quickly built another airship, which he named the Sky-cycle, and flew it for crowds at Olentangy Park.
10.
In October 1907, Cromwell Dixon was invited to participate in the International Aeronautic Tournament at St Louis.
11.
Cromwell Dixon continued to show his airships across the United States and Canada well into 1910.
12.
Cromwell Dixon eventually landed only 10 feet from the water's edge.
13.
Cromwell Dixon provided Dixon with a Curtiss "Pusher" plane, which he named Hummingbird.
14.
Cromwell Dixon immediately embarked on a cross-country tour, traveling by train with his plane on a flatcar and stopping for performances in major cities.
15.
Cromwell Dixon's manager refused to allow him to try the dangerous trip until a $10,000 purse was raised.
16.
The flight took 26 minutes, and by completing it Cromwell Dixon became the first aviator to cross the Continental Divide.
17.
The return flight proved to be more difficult; Cromwell Dixon had problems reaching the necessary altitude, and the flight took 43 minutes.
18.
Cromwell Dixon's achievement earned him $10,000, presented to him by Governor Edwin L Norris.
19.
Cromwell Dixon died two days later, in Spokane, Washington at the Interstate Fair.
20.
Cromwell Dixon died less than an hour later in the hospital.
21.
Cromwell Dixon Drive in Helena is named after him, as well as Cromwell Dixon Campground on MacDonald Pass, near Blossburg.