1886: The World Debut of an Aviation Innovator

August 26, 1886

Jerome C. Hunsaker, an aeronautical engineer whose productive career spanned the period from the early days of aviation to the age of space exploration, was born in Creston, Iowa. Hunsaker attended the U.S. Naval Academy, where he graduated at the head of his class in 1908. He was then assigned by the Navy to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to study ship construction. 

Hunsaker received his master’s degree in naval architecture, but found himself increasingly drawn instead to the nascent field of aeronautics after watching renowned French aviator Louis Blériot fly around Boston Harbor. Hunsaker went on to become the first student at MIT to earn a Ph.D. in aeronautical engineering. He subsequently made significant innovations in the design of airships, seaplanes and carrier-based aircraft. 

One of Hunsaker’s key accomplishments involved helping to design the Navy Curtiss flying boat, which had the capability for crossing the Atlantic Ocean – one of those seaplanes would become the first-ever aircraft to do just that in 1919 — and (with four engines and room for a crew of six) was the world’s largest aircraft at that time. This pioneering fixed-wing seaplane was used by the U.S. Navy from 1918 to the early 1920s. 

Along with making a great deal of technical contributions to aviation, Hunsaker focused on creating and sustaining the institutions needed to handle the ever-mushrooming growth of the aeronautics industry. These efforts included his serving as president of the Goodyear Zeppelin Company. 

Hunsaker arguably reached the zenith of his career by the early 1930s, a time during which he received the prestigious Guggenheim Medal for his work in aeronautics and became head of MIT’s Mechanical Engineering Department. In addition, Hunsaker served as chairman of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics from 1941 to 1956. He died on September 10, 1984, at the age of 98 at his home in Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood. 

Photo Credit: Public Domain

For more information on Jerome C. Hunsaker, please check out  https://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/12/obituaries/jerome-c-hunsaker-98-is-dead-aeronautical-engineering-pioneer.html