James J. Pennington
James Jackson Pennington was an aero inventor whom patent data has filing from Henryville, Lawrence county, Tennessee.[1]
He was in touch with other aero inventors, notably Eugene F. Falconnet.
A historical marker in his honor says he was "a Lawrence County farmer, merchant, and inventor of an early flying machine", and that his model aircraft was exhibited at a "Scientific Exposition" in Louisville, Kentucky in 1883. The airfield at Lawrenceburg Municipal Airport was named for him."[2][3]. Some sources say that's called Pennington Field.
Find-a-grave has a photo of him and more biographical and family genealogy and a several-paragraph biography attributed to Cleo G. Hogan, 1978[4] Hogan's bio is also at aerofiles.com: [1]
Hogan (1978) describes the invention thus: "He patented a device in 1877 consisting of a balloon from which was suspended a fan which would draw air into a chamber and expel it through a narrow aperture. The thrust of the expelled air would make the contrivance move." Sounds like a balloon navigated by a propeller, which would not be a new idea per se. The patent specification's text is quoted to say that it would be a balloon railway: "The apparatus is suspended by a balloon or upon a rope tramway"
Did he build it? It's implied that he built a small model of it. Hogan wrote, "Pennington could not find funds to build a full-scale prototype and died without seeing his dream come true. His widow sold the model of the Flying Machine to the Wright brothers for $500 ..." This person had 0 publications and 3 patents in this database.
Patents whose inventor or applicant is James J. Pennington
- Patent CA-1883-16485 (English title: Improvements in flying machines, Supplementary to patent: Patent US-1877-194841 • Patent CA-1878-8661)
- Patent US-1877-194841 (English title: Flying-machines, Filing date: 1877-07-23)
- Patent CA-1878-8661 (English title: Improvements in flying machines, Supplementary to patent: Patent US-1877-194841, Filing date: 1878-04-24)
Letters sent by James J. Pennington
References
| Names | James J. Pennington; James Jackson Pennington |
|---|---|
| Countries | US |
| Locations | Henryville, TN, Lawrence county, TN, Tennessee |
| Occupations | farmer, merchant |
| Tech areas | LTA |
| Accreditations | |
| Affiliations | |
| Family name | Pennington |
| Birth date | 1819 |
| Death date | 1885 |
| Wikidata id |
