William J. Powell, American Aviator

by Science Source

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William J. Powell, American Aviator

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Science Source

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Photograph - Photograph

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Entitled "Second Lt. William J. Powell in France, 1917." William Jenifer Powell (July 27, 1897 - July 12, 1942) was an American engineer, soldier, civil aviator and author who is credited with promoting aviation among the African-American community. He was accepted to the University of Illinois electrical engineering program, but his studies were cut short when he volunteered and was shipped off to fight in WWI. He was wounded in a gas attack, and subsequently returned to the United States to finish his college degree. He was fascinated by flight and applied to the Army Air Corps and several other flight schools without success, until he was accepted at the Los Angeles School of Flight in 1928. He then founded the Bessie Coleman Aero Club, in honor of the first female black aviator who had died three years before. He also established a school to train mechanics and pilots, and published the Craftsmen Aero News, which he claimed to be the first African- American trade journal. By 1932, Powell was one of only 14 Black pilots in the United States, as well as being a licensed navigator and aeronautical engineer. Bessie Coleman Aero was closed due to financial hardships caused by the Great Depression. In 1934 Powell published Black Wings, a fictionalized account of his own life, through which he aimed to inspire young African-Americans to enter aviation not only as pilots, but as designers, engineers and mechanics. He died in 1942, at the age of 44, probably due to the effects of his exposure to poison gas in the war.

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June 14th, 2016

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