TOM CROUCH TO SPEAK AT JUNE BUG ANNIVERSARY DINNER

TOM CROUCH TO SPEAK AT JUNE BUG ANNIVERSARY DINNER

NASM Senior Curator, Tom Crouch, will be a special guest of the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport, as part of the celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the flight of Glenn Curtiss’s June Bug. Dr. Crouch will speak at the Anniversary Dinner on Friday evening, July 4, as the museum begins a weekend of activities commemorating the historic flight. On July 4, 1908, the June Bug made the first pre-announced public flight in America. For this flight of more than 1 kilometer, Curtiss won the Scientific American trophy and was ultimately awarded U. S. Pilot’s License No.1.

Tom Crouch is senior curator of the Division of Aeronautics at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum. Since 1974 he has served both the National Air and Space Museum and the National Museum of American History in a variety of curatorial and administrative posts. He holds a BA (1962) from Ohio University, an MA (1968) from Miami University, a Ph.D. (1976) from the Ohio State University and an honorary degree in Doctor of Humane Letters from Wright State University. All of his degrees are in history. In the fall of 2000, President Clinton appointed him chairman of the First Flight Centennial Federal Advisory Board.

Crouch is the author or editor of more than a dozen books and many articles for both magazines and scholarly journals, most of which have been on aspects of the history of flight technology. His leading books include "The Bishop’s Boys: A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright" (1989); "Dream of Wings: American and the Airplane, 1875-1905" (1981); "Eagle Aloft: Two Centuries of the Balloon in America" (1983); "Wings: A History of Aviation from Kites to the Space Age" (2003), "Rocketeers and Gentlemen Engineers: A History of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and What Came Before”; Lighter than Air: A Concise History of Balloons and Airships. His other works include Bleriot XI: The Story of a Classic Airplane; A Dream of Wings: Americans and the Airplane, 1875-1905 and several other notable publications.

Prior to coming to the Smithsonian he was employed by the Ohio Historical Society as director of education (1969-1973) and as Director, Ohio American Revolution Bicentennial Advisory Commission. (1973-1974). Since 1974, Crouch has served both the National Air and Space Museum and the National Museum of American History in a variety of curatorial and administrative posts. Throughout his career, has also played a major role in planning exhibitions and managing museum collections. President Clinton appointed Dr. Crouch to the Chairmanship of the First Flight Centennial Federal Advisory Board, an organization created to advise the Centennial of Flight Commission on activities planned to commemorate the 100th anniversary of powered flight.

Contact the Curtiss Museum to purchase tickets for the event ($60 for members, $75 for non-members) or for additional information: 607-569-2160 or info@glennhcurtissmuseum.org