Ralph Warren Cram (June 19, 1869 – May 8, 1952) was a newspaper editor and aviator.

Biography

He was born in

Zanesville, Ohio Zanesville is a city in Muskingum County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located at the confluence of the Licking River (Ohio), Licking and Muskingum River, Muskingum rivers, the city is approximately east of Columbus, Ohio, Columb ...

, in 1869, son of Charles W. Cram, a physician, and Clarissa Deming. Cram was a cousin of American architect

Ralph Adams Cram Ralph Adams Cram (December 16, 1863 – September 22, 1942) was a prolific and influential American architect of collegiate and ecclesiastical buildings, often in the Gothic Revival style. Cram & Ferguson and Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson are partn ...

. He married Mary Belle (Mabel) Laventure in 1892, and they had six children including parasitologist Eloise Blaine Cram (1896–1957) and aviation engineer Ralph LaVenture Cram (1906–1939) who was killed during a test flight of the first

Boeing 307 Stratoliner The Boeing Model 307 Stratoliner (or Strato-Clipper in Pan American Airways, Pan American service, or C-75 in United States Army Air Forces, USAAF service) is an American stressed-skin four-engine low-wing Conventional landing gear, tailwheel mo ...

. He died in 1952. He was buried at

Oakdale Memorial Gardens Oakdale Memorial Gardens, formerly Oakdale Cemetery, is located in east-central Davenport, Iowa. It contains a section for the burial of pets called the Love of Animals Petland. In 2015, the cemetery was listed as an Historic districts in the U ...

, among other historical figures prominent in Davenport's history.

Newspaperman

In 1883 Cram began his newspaper career as a

printer's devil A printer's devil was a young apprentice in a printing establishment who performed a number of tasks, such as mixing tubs of ink and fetching type. Notable writers including Benjamin Franklin, Walt Whitman, Ambrose Bierce, Bret Harte, and Mar ...

with the '' Davenport Democrat'' of

Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...

. After being a reporter, city editor, and managing editor, in 1930 he became editor and publisher, a position he held until his retirement in 1940. Cram was an acknowledged political analyst, and his editorials reflected life not only in Davenport, but in the state and nation as a whole.

Aviation

An authority on aviation and an avid pilot, in 1919 following

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 ...

Cram began flying, and edited the History of War Activities of Scott County Iowa in 1921. On 11 November 1928 (Armistice Day), Cram Field Davenport Municipal Airport was dedicated in his honor, and in 1934 he was appointed state director in charge of airport improvement in Iowa. He was a charter member of the

National Aeronautic Association The National Aeronautic Association of the United States (NAA) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and a founding member of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Founded in 1905, it is the oldest national aviation club in the Uni ...

in 1922, and was also a sponsor of the Airplane Owners and Pilots Association. Cram was a frequent contributor to aeronautic magazines and the author of "Soloing at Sixty-two." He wrote the story of his life in seventy-eight chapters, published serially in the ''Democrat and Leader'', 1937–1939.

References

External links

Ralph W. Cram Papers
at

Newberry Library The Newberry Library is an independent research library, specializing in the humanities. It is located in Chicago, Illinois, and has been free and open to the public since 1887. The Newberry's mission is to foster a deeper understanding of our wo ...

Ralph W. Cram
in: A Narrative History of The People of Iowa with SPECIAL TREATMENT OF THEIR CHIEF ENTERPRISES IN EDUCATION, RELIGION, VALOR, INDUSTRY, BUSINESS, ETC., by EDGAR RUBEY HARLAN, LL. B., A. M. Curator of the Historical, Memorial and Art Department of Iowa Volume IV THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Inc. Chicago and New York. 1931 * Ralph W. Cram, 1921
History of War Activities of Scott County Iowa

Death of Dr. C.W. Cram
in: The Medical Brief: A Monthly Journal of Scientific Medicine and Surgery, Volume 27 - January 1, 1899: p. 1396.
Cram, Eloise Blaine
in: ''Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science'', edited by

Marilyn Ogilvie Marilyn Bailey Ogilvie (born March 22, 1936) is an American historian of science known especially for her work on the history of women in science. She taught at Oklahoma Baptist University before becoming curator of the History of Science Collec ...

and

Joy Harvey Joy Dorothy Harvey (born 1934) is an American historian of science. Life Harvey gained a PhD from Harvard University in 1983. She has been an associate editor of the Darwin Correspondence Project, and written a biography of Clémence Royer, D ...

, p. 608. Routledge, 2000.
Alder, WA Dutch Airliner Crashes, Mar 1939
Sandusky Register Ohio 1939-03-19. * Wilma, David, 2000
Boeing Stratoliner crash kills 10 on March 18, 1939.

* Gantt, Marlene, 2009

Quad City Times. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cram, Ralph W. 1869 births 1952 deaths People from Zanesville, Ohio Writers from Davenport, Iowa American newspaper editors American aviation writers American aviation pioneers Journalists from Ohio