Alfred Lawson
Alfred William Lawson (March 24, 1869 – November 29, 1954) was an English born professional baseball player, aviator and utopian philosopher. He was a baseball player, manager, and league promoter from 1887 through 1916 and went on to play a pioneering role in the U.S. aircraft industry. He published two early aviation trade journals.
Alfred Lawson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Alfred William Lawson March 24, 1869 London, England |
| Died | November 29, 1954 (aged 85) San Antonio, Texas, US |
| Nationality | Born in the United Kingdom, emigrated to Canada, then the United States by 1872 |
| Known for | Baseball, aviation, philosophy |
He is frequently cited as the inventor of the airliner and was awarded several of the first air mail contracts, which he ultimately could not fulfill. He founded the Lawson Aircraft Company in Green Bay, Wisconsin, to build military training aircraft and later the Lawson Airplane Company in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to build airliners.
The crash of his ambitious Lawson L-4 "Midnight Liner" during its trial flight takeoff on May 8, 1921, ended his best chance for commercial aviation success.
In 1904, he wrote a utopian novel, Born Again, in which he developed the philosophy which later became Lawsonomy.