Solomon Andrews

Solomon Andrews (February 15, 1806 - October 17, 1872) was an American physician, politician, and inventor, recognised for his pioneering contributions to balloon aviation as the designer of the first self-propelled, steerable dirigible airship, the Aereon, which he first flew on June 1, 1863 over Perth Amboy, New Jersey.

Background

 * Health officer, planned and implemented Perth Amboy sewage system
 * U.S. Collector of Customs, 1844-45
 * Mayor of Perth Amboy, N.J., 1849, 1853, 1855
 * Inventor of "unpickable" combination lock, contract with U.S. Post Office to secure bags.
 * The Inventors' Institute -- "Without eccentricity there is no progression!"

"The Art of Flying: Without Eccentricity There Is No Progression"
The Aereon (from the Greek aer, air + eon, age; "Air Age") was a three-hulled dirigible, "propelled first by gravity and then by buoyancy as he alternated the inclination of the hulls together with changes in the buoyancy," designed based on the principle that "certain orientations of an ellipsoid balloon generate thrust as the vehicle ascends or descends."

Aerial Navigation Company

 * Incorporated in New York, 24 November 1865.
 * Officers: Solomon Andrews, President; George W. Trow, Vice President; Emmett Densmore, Treasurer; C. M. Plumb, Secretary.
 * Trustees: G. Waldo Hill, Cyrus O. Poole and C. J. Hopkins.
 * Motto: Tempus Fugit; Tempore Fugit Homo. (Latin: "Time Flies; Now Man Flies.")