Langley High School - Aeronaut Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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LANGLEY HIGH ScHooL Sannnnuiell Pierpont llzfanniglley 5.,T'2,ggg Roxbury, Massachusetts, on August 22, 1834, there was born a ffg 5, AP' man who vias destined to become a most famous scientist, a , . p leader in projects hitherto untried and the man for whom our u- L if , tax, . ' , school is named, Samuel Pierpont Langley. J F I I . . 'ak I ' After he had attended various private schools, he entered the Boston Latin School. Because of his great love of mechanics, he did not enter college but took a course in civil engineering, which he made his pro- fession for a time. In his spare time he studied astronomy. He made rapid progress in this study and was appointed assistant at the Harvard University. From that time his promotion was rapid. His next position was that of teacher of mathematics in the United Naval Academy at Annapolis. Later, in 1867, he received the appointment of professor at the Wfestern University of Pennsylvania, now the University of Pittsburgh. Included in his duties at Pittsburgh was the care of the observatory in Riverview Park. lVhen he took up his duties in Pittsburgh, Professor Langley was confronted with difficulties which would have proved insurmountable to any other man. The observatory was bereft of the necessary equipment for his work, and he had no apparatus except an equatorial telescope of a good size which had been used by an amateur club for star gazing. The scientist knew that he must secure funds for the equipment, but did not know how. Since he was a man of moderate means and he had no millionaire friends to aid him, he was left to his own resources. As a result he originated the system of observatories supplying the railroads with electric time sig- nals. This scheme has been taken up by many of the observatories of our country and is now in operation. In 1876 he observed a total eclipse of the sun from Pikes Peak and spent the following winter in makinga study of that body from Mount Aetna. Later he organized a party under the auspices of the United States Signal Service to ascend Mount Whitney, and on his return, he gave the report of his investigation before the Royal Society of London. ' Professor Langley had also an interest in aeronautics. In spite of the ridicule of his friends he devised a flying machine. It was not exactly a success, yet it could not be termed a failure because his experiment opened the aeroplane held to the Wright Brothers. Although during life he had acquired many honors, such as membership in the Natural Academy of Science, President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and position of Secretary of the Smithsonian Institute, he died of a broken heart in 1906, because his efforts in aeronautics had been scorned and doubted by his friends. Perhaps if Dr. Langley, the great scientist, writer and inventor could now look up the results of his efforts he would be contented, and perhaps as he would gaze upon the Langley High School, he would utter those same words which he spoke as he stood upon the hills of Allegheny and watched the sun, with all its glory, sink to rest,- It is beautiful. Mary Beggy. Page Eight ,I : MW, J! chef 2? fe-'. 3 :-'.:.5:txw.s.a

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