Arthur Pratt Warner of Beloit was the first Wisconsin resident to fly, when on November 4, 1909, he took off in his Curtiss Pusher. Alfred W. Lawson built airplanes in Green Bay and Miilwaukee, 1918-1921, launching the state's aircraft industry. William "Billy" Mitchell, a member of one of Milwaukee's most prominent families, witnessed a demonstration by Orville Wright in 1908 that contributed to his emergence as a prophet of military air power in 1920s and 1930s.

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Aviation in Wisconsin

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Dictionary of Wisconsin History

Explore more than 1,600 people, places and events in Wisconsin history.