Glenn Hammond Curtiss (May 21, 1878 – July 23, 1930) was an American
aviation 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 as 1904, he began to manufacture engines for airships. In 1908 Curtiss joined the
Aerial Experiment Association (AEA), a pioneering research group, founded by
Alexander Graham Bell at
Beinn Bhreagh, Nova Scotia to build flying machines.