Samuel Pierpont Langley (August 22, 1834 – February 27, 1906) was an American astronomer, physicist, inventor of the bolometer and aviation pioneer.

He attended Boston Latin School, graduated from English High School of Boston, was an assistant in the Harvard College Observatory, then moved to a job ostensibly as a professor of mathematics at the United States Naval Academy, but actually was sent there to restore the Academy’s small observatory. In 1867, he became the director of the Allegheny Observatory and a professor of astronomy at the Western University of Pennsylvania, now known as the University of Pittsburgh, a post he kept until 1891 even while he became the third Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in 1887. Langley was the founder of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. In 1888 Langley was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society. In 1898, he received the Prix Jules Janssen, the highest award of the Société astronomique de France, the French astronomical society.

More info at: Samuel Pierpont Langley – Wikipedia

Additional Articles associated with this person’s firsts:

• Samuel Pierpont Langley Propelled a Steam Engine Plane
• American Built Radial Aviation Engine

Name(s):
      Samuel Pierpont Langley
Birth:
      August 22, 1834, Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Death:
      February 27, 1906, Aiken, South Carolina, United States
Known for:
      Solar physics
Education:
      The English High School,
      Boston Latin School,
      Boston High School
Awards:
      Rumford Medal,
      Henry Draper Medal,
      Rumford Prize,
      John Scott Legacy Medal and Premium

Additional Information:

• Samuel Pierpont Langley – Wikipedia
  Samuel Pierpont Langley (August 22, 1834 – February 27, 1906) was an American astronomer, physicist, inventor of the bolometer and aviation pioneer.
• Samuel Pierpont Langley | American engineer | Britannica.com
  Aug 18, 2019 – Samuel Pierpont Langley, (born Aug. 22, 1834, Roxbury, Mass., U.S.—died Feb. 27, 1906, Aiken, S.C.), American astrophysicist and aeronautical pioneer who developed new instruments with which to study the Sun and built the first powered heavier-than-air machine of significant size to achieve sustained flight.
• Samuel P. Langley: Aviation Pioneer – Smithsonian Libraries
  Samuel Pierpont Langley was born in 1834 in Roxbury, Massachusetts. He was the son of Samuel Langley and Mary Williams; Langley’s father was a merchant …
• Samuel P. Langley – FLYING MACHINES
  Samuel Pierpont Langley. Samuel P. Langley had been interested in flight, he said, “…as long as I can remember anything.” He began aerial experimentation in …
  You visited this page on 31/08/19.
• Samuel Pierpont Langley
  Samuel Pierpont Langley (1834 – 1906) is often used as a contrast to the Wrights. Unlike the two brothers, Langley was highly-educated and had more than …
• Samuel Pierpont Langley – USA – The Aviation History Online Museum
  Of all the early trail blazers one of the most controversial, and surely one of the most unlucky, was Samuel Pierpont Langley. This distinguished astronomer, the …
• Samuel Pierpont Langley – Wikimedia Commons
  Feb 2, 2019 – Media in category “Samuel Pierpont Langley”. The following 14 files are in this category, out of 14 total. Description- As the Smithsonian’s first …
• The Man Who Almost Beat the Wrights Into the Air – HistoryNet
  Samuel Pierpont Langley paced impatiently on the deck of a houseboat on May 6, 1896. His friend and fellow scientist, Alexander Graham Bell, stood nearby.
• Samuel Pierpont Langley | Encyclopedia.com
  Langley, Samuel Pierpont(b. Roxbury [now part of Boston], Massachusetts, 22 August 1834; d.
• Samuel Pierpont Langley | Physics & Astronomy | University of …
  Samuel Pierpont Langley (1834-1906) was an American astronomer, physicist, and inventor. He is best known as the inventor of the bolometer and as an …