Charles Harvard Gibbs-Smith

Charles Harvard Gibbs-Smith
Born22 March 1909
Teddington, Greater London, United Kingdom[1]
Died3 December 1981(1981-12-03) (aged 72)
Academic work
Main interestsEarly aviation, Bayeux Tapestry, paranormal
Notable worksThe Invention of the Aeroplane
Notable ideasimportance of inventor George Cayley; primacy of Wright brothers; critical appraisal of Clement Ader's contribution
Influencedhistoriography of aviation; accounts of the Wrights

Charles Harvard Gibbs-Smith (22 March 1909 – 3 December 1981)[2] was a British polymath historian of aeronautics and aviation.[3] His obituary in The Times described him as "the recognised authority on the early development of flying in Europe and America"[4] Richard P. Hallion called him "The greatest of all historians of early aviation".[5]

  1. ^ Chambers Biographical Dictionary. Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. 2007. Retrieved 26 May 2011. Hosted by Credo Reference.
  2. ^ Charles Gibbs-Smith, famous people from Teddington at Information Britain web site
  3. ^ "Obituary of John Harthan". V&A People. Victoria and Albert Museum. February 2002. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
  4. ^ "Charles Harvard Gibbs-Smith", Staff Obituaries, Victoria and Albert Museum, archived from the original on 15 January 2011, retrieved 26 September 2010, Reproduced with kind permission of The Times Times Newspapers Limited
  5. ^ Hallion, Richard (2003). Taking flight: inventing the aerial age from antiquity through the First World War. Oxford University Press US. p. 446. ISBN 0-19-516035-5.