Frederic Erastus Humphreys (September 16, 1883 – January 20, 1941) was one of the original three military pilots trained by the

Wright brothers The Wright brothers, Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur Wright (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), were American aviation List of aviation pioneers, pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flyin ...

and the first to fly solo.

Biography

Humphreys was born on September 16, 1883, in

Summit, New Jersey Summit is the northernmost City (New Jersey), city of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located within the New York metropolitan area. Situated on a ridge in north Jersey, northern–central Jersey, centra ...

, the only son of Jay Humphreys and Fannie Brush.Frederick E. Humphreys: First Military Pilot
New York State Military Museum. Accessed February 19, 2011. "Frederick Erastus Humphreys was born September 16, 1883, at Summit, New Jersey, the only child of Jay and Fannie Brush Humphreys." He attended the

Pennsylvania Military College Widener University is a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania, United States. Established in 1821, the university was known as the Pennsylvania Military College until 1972. Widener enrolls approximately 3,500 undergraduate students across s ...

, and won an appointment from New York to the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

. He was made Cadet Captain, he lettered in fencing, and was the top eighth student of seventy-eight in the West Point Class of 1906. After graduation and commissioning, he was assigned to the Army Corps of Engineers and sent to

Fort Riley, Kansas Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Ge ...

, where he worked in bridge construction. 2nd Lt. Humphreys deployed to Cuba during the Pacification Expedition, and a year later, returned to attend the Engineer Officer Basic Course. Humphreys volunteered for assignment to the

Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps The Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps, Appendix 2 (1907–1914) was the first heavier-than-air military aviation organization in history and the progenitor of the United States Air Force. A component of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, the Aeronaut ...

and was chosen to replace

Benjamin Foulois Benjamin Delahauf Foulois (December 9, 1879 – April 25, 1967) was a United States Army general who learned to fly the first military planes purchased from the Wright brothers. He became the first military aviator as an airship pilot, and achie ...

in pilot training by the

. On October 26, 1909, after three hours of instruction by

Wilbur Wright The Wright brothers, Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur Wright (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), were American aviation List of aviation pioneers, pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flyin ...

, he became the first Army aviator to solo in a heavier-than-air craft, and thus the first pilot of the first progenitor of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. The Army's sole military airplane crashed on November 5, 1909. After repairs, it was subsequently ordered to Fort Sam Houston, Texas, but on a different program. Meanwhile Humphreys returned to the Corps of Engineers. In 1910, Humphreys resigned his commission to attend to his father's business, the

Humphreys Homeopathic Medicine Company Frederick K. Humphreys (March 11, 1816 – July 18, 1900) was an American physician and the founder of Humphreys Homeopathic Medicine Company in New York City in 1853. Biography Frederick was born in Marcellus, New York, on March 11, 1816. Freder ...

, founded by his grandfather in 1853. Thereafter he served as an officer of the company, the last twelve years of his life as its president.

National Guard

In June 1915, Humphreys joined the

New York National Guard New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

's 22d Engineers Regiment as a First Lieutenant. He was called up with his regiment for Mexican Border service after

Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa ( , , ; born José Doroteo Arango Arámbula; 5 June 1878 – 20 July 1923) was a Mexican revolutionary and prominent figure in the Mexican Revolution. He was a key figure in the revolutionary movement that forced ...

's raids in 1916, he served as an aide to Major General

John F. O'Ryan John Francis O'Ryan (August 21, 1874 – January 29, 1961) was a Manhattan, New York City attorney, politician, government official and military officer. He served as commander of the 27th Division during World War I. He later served as a memb ...

, Commanding General of the New York (later 27th) Division. Shortly after his return to New York, the regiment was inducted into federal service for

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After initial service with his regiment at the divisional training post at

Spartanburg, South Carolina Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city had a population of 38,732 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in South Carolina, 11th ...

, he was recalled and was transferred to the Air Service in January 1918. After flight training at

Rockwell Field Rockwell Field is a former United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) military airfield, located northwest of the city of Coronado, California, on the northern part of the Coronado Peninsula across the bay from San Diego, California. This airfield ...

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, he was assigned to the first class of the School of Military Aeronautics at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

for advanced technical training. He remained at MIT as head of the school's Department of Practical Aircraft Design, and then was made school commander. At about the time of the Armistice, he was assigned to the newly founded Technical Section, Engineering Division, at

McCook Field McCook Field was an airfield and aviation experimentation station in Dayton, Ohio, United States. It was operated by the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps and its successor the United States Army Air Service from 1917 to 1927. It was named f ...

, in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

, remaining there until he was demobilized in February 1919. Humphreys returned to New York and was appointed Colonel of the 102nd Army Engineers, a position he had until his retirement due to ill health on July 11, 1939. On November 5, 1920, he received federal recognition as a colonel of engineers in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed ...

. At the time of his retirement, Humphreys was the senior Colonel of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. He was advanced to Brigadier General on the State Retired List.

Marriages

In December 1910, Humphreys married Myrtle Lee Fears (January 31, 1888 – January 28, 1980) in New York City. In 1931, they divorced and he married Ethel McClellan Plummer. After his second wife's death in October 1936, Frederic and Myrtle Humphreys remarried on December 7, 1936 in Manhattan.

Death

Recuperating from pneumonia in

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean ...

, Humphreys had a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

and died in 1941. He was 57 years old, and was buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

. Despite having been a brigadier general in the New York National Guard and a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, his gravestone is marked "Major, Air Svc" in recognition of his contributions to military aviation during World War I.Burial Detail: Humphreys, Frederic E
– ANC Explorer

Organizations

National Foreign Trade Council Founded in 1914, the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) is an American government-funded trade association that advocates for an open, rule-based international trade system. Its stated goal is to serve its hundreds of member companies by provi ...

New York Board of Trade ICE Futures U.S.—known as the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) until September, 2007— is a physical commodity futures exchange located in New York City. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). History It origi ...

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, natural sc ...

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

Institute of Aeronautical Sciences The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of t ...

* West Point Association of Graduates

Notes

References

External links

Frederick E. Humphreys
at ArlingtonCemetery.net, an unofficial website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Humphreys, Frederic Erastus 1883 births 1941 deaths People from Summit, New Jersey American people of Welsh descent Widener University alumni United States Military Academy alumni United States Army Corps of Engineers personnel Wright brothers Members of the Early Birds of Aviation Businesspeople from New York (state) New York National Guard personnel United States Army personnel of World War I MIT School of Engineering alumni United States Army reservists United States Army colonels National Guard (United States) generals Burials at Arlington National Cemetery