Henry Roy Waite (October 3, 1884 - December 18, 1978) was an

aviation pioneer Aviation pioneers are people directly and indirectly responsible for the creation and advancement of human flight capability, including people who worked to achieve manned flight before the invention of aircraft, as well as others who achieved si ...

. He was one of the first aircraft inspectors for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. He later restored the

Wright Flyer The ''Wright Flyer'' (also known as the ''Kitty Hawk'', ''Flyer'' I or the 1903 ''Flyer'') made the first sustained flight by a manned heavier-than-air powered and controlled aircraft on December 17, 1903. Invented and flown by brothers Wrigh ...

for display in the Smithsonian.

Biography

He was born on October 3, 1884, in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, to Julia C. and Horace Waite. He died on December 18, 1978, in

Winthrop, Massachusetts Winthrop is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,316 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Winthrop is an ocean-side suburban town in Greater Boston situated at the ...

References

American aviation pioneers Members of the Early Birds of Aviation 1884 births 1978 deaths {{Aviation-bio-stub