Arthur Pratt Warner (April 18, 1870,

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

– March 22, 1957,

Beloit, Wisconsin Beloit ( ) is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 36,657 people. Beloit is a principal city of the Janesville, Wisconsin, Janesville–Beloit metropolitan statistical area (Rock Co ...

) was an American inventor, businessman and pioneer aviator. His inventions include the electric brake and, along with his brother, the automotive

speedometer A speedometer or speed meter is a gauge (instrument), gauge that measures and displays the instantaneous speed of a vehicle. Now universally fitted to motor vehicles, they started to be available as options in the early 20th century, and as ...

. He was the first American private citizen to purchase an airplane, the "first commercially built airplane". He paid

Glenn Curtiss Glenn Hammond Curtiss (May 21, 1878 – July 23, 1930) was an American aviation and motorcycling pioneer, and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle racer and builder before moving on to motorcycles. As early a ...

$6000 (equal to $ today) a disassembled one. Once he had assembled it (without instructions or manuals), he became the first person to fly in Wisconsin, at Beloit on November 4, 1909. He got off the ground and traveled a quarter mile (0.4 km). This also made him the eleventh American pilot. A self-taught engineer, with his brother Charles he invented the first automobile speedometer, which made him rich. The Warner Instrument Co. was incorporated in 1903, with Warner as vice president and general manager. In 1912, he sold his speedometer company for $1.2 million, equal to $ today. In 1917, the Warner Manufacturing Co. came into existence, with Warner as president, to make automobile and truck trailers. Inventions that he developed in connection with this business included the electric brake and power clutch. He retired in 1934.

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Early Aviators - A.P. WarnerWarner Auto-Meter Speedometer, 1908
at the Henry Ford Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Warner, Arthur Pratt 1870 births 1957 deaths American chief executives of manufacturing companies American inventors Aviators from Florida Businesspeople from Florida Members of the Early Birds of Aviation People from Jacksonville, Florida People from Beloit, Wisconsin

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