Geoffrey Louis Rossano was an American author and historian with an emphasis on aviation, maritime and military history. He died after a long struggle with kidney failure on July 23, 2021. He lived in Salisbury, Connecticut, and was an instructor in history at the Salisbury School and the school archivist. [1] He was the 2010 winner of the Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Naval History Prize for Stalking the U-Boat: U.S. Naval Aviation In Europe During World War I, a book that comprehensively examines how naval aviation during WW1 proved the usefulness of aviation in fleet operations. [2] Rossano's most recent book was Hero of the Angry Sky: the World War I diary and letters of David S. Ingalls, America's first naval ace. [3]
Rossano received a BA from Tufts University and both his MA and PhD from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. His PhD was in American history and his dissertation was titled, “A subtle revolution : the urban transformation of rural life, New Gloucester, Maine, 1775-1930” (completed in 1980). [4]
Some of Rossano's early projects include a series of Historic and Architectural Resource Surveys beginning in 1996 and running until 2003. The subjects of these surveys were the Connecticut towns of Sharon, Voluntown, Union, Lisbon, Sprague, Griswold, Manchester, Franklin and Orange and they were published with the support of the State Historic Preservation Office (formerly the Connecticut Historical Commission). [5] [6] Before becoming a teacher, Rossano worked in New York state government in the Office of the State Comptroller and the State Senate. [1] During this period, he served as vice president of the State's Urban Development Corporation. [7] Rossano also consulted on projects such as “museum exhibits, historic building surveys, and research reports” for local museums and historical societies. [1]
Rossano is married to Joan Baldwin and has two daughters. [1]
Joseph Jacob Foss was a United States Marine Corps major and a leading Marine fighter ace in World War II. He received the Medal of Honor in recognition of his role in air combat during the Guadalcanal Campaign. In postwar years, he was an Air National Guard brigadier general, served as the 20th Governor of South Dakota (1955–1959), president of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) and the first commissioner of the American Football League. He also was a television broadcaster.
Anne Spencer Morrow Lindbergh was an American writer and aviatrix. She was the wife of decorated pioneer aviator Charles Lindbergh, with whom she made many exploratory flights.
Gideon Welles, nicknamed "Father Neptune", was the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1861 to 1869, a cabinet post he was awarded after supporting Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 election. Although opposed to the Union blockade of Southern ports, he duly carried out his part of the Anaconda Plan, largely sealing off the Confederate coastline and preventing the exchange of cotton for war supplies. This is viewed as a major cause of Union victory in the Civil War, and his achievement in expanding the Navy almost tenfold was widely praised. Welles was also instrumental in the Navy's creation of the Medal of Honor.
The Naval History and Heritage Command, formerly the Naval Historical Center, is an Echelon II command responsible for the preservation, analysis, and dissemination of U.S. naval history and heritage located at the historic Washington Navy Yard. The NHHC is composed of 42 facilities in 13 geographic locations including the Navy Department Library, 10 museums and 1 heritage center, USS Constitution repair facility and detachment, and historic ship ex-USS Nautilus.
Donald Wills Douglas Sr. was an American aircraft industrialist and engineer.
Henry Barrett Tillman is an American author who specializes in naval and aviation topics in addition to fiction and technical writing.
Alexander Vraciu was a United States Navy fighter ace, Navy Cross recipient, and Medal of Honor nominee during World War II. At the end of the war, Vraciu ranked fourth among the U.S. Navy's flying aces, with 19 enemy planes downed during flight and 21 destroyed on the ground. After the war, he served as a test pilot and was instrumental in forming the post-war Naval and Marine Air Reserve program. From 1956 to 1958 Vraciu led his own fighter squadron, VF-51, for twenty-two months. He retired from the U.S. Navy with the rank of commander on December 31, 1963. Vraciu later moved to Danville, California, and worked for Wells Fargo.
The Connecticut Military Department is a state agency of the government of Connecticut. Its primary components are the Connecticut Army National Guard, the Connecticut Air National Guard, and four companies of the state militia. The Military Department of the State of Connecticut traces its origins to May 11, 1637, when the "General Courts" established a military arm of the provincial government. In 1939, the State's Military Department was established to consolidate the offices of Adjutant General, Quartermaster General, Armory Board, and Armory Board Inspector.
William Shepard was a United States representative from Massachusetts (1797–1802), and a military officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. As a state militia leader he protected the Springfield Armory during Shays' Rebellion, firing cannon into the force of Daniel Shays and compelling them to disperse. He was also served in town and state government and was a member of the Massachusetts Governor's Council.
ACE is a musical with a book and lyrics by Robert Taylor and Richard Oberacker, and music by Oberacker. The story is about a boy, separated from his mother, who discovers his past and himself through a series of dreams about a flying ace. It was inspired by Robert Taylor's father training to be a pilot, and his mother having a near-fatal bout with depression.
David Sinton Ingalls was the US Navy's only flying ace of World War I, with six credited victories; thus he was the first ace in US Navy history.
The Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Prize in Naval History was an annual prize given between 1986 and 2011 by The New York Council of the Navy League of the United States, the Roosevelt Institute, and the Theodore Roosevelt Association. It was given for the best book on American naval history published in the previous calendar year. The prize commemorated Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt, who both served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and who both supported the United States Navy as presidents of the United States.
The Colt Armory is a historic factory complex for the manufacture of firearms, created by Samuel Colt. It is located in Hartford, Connecticut along the Connecticut River, and as of 2008 is part of the Coltsville Historic District, named a National Historic Landmark District. It is slated to become part of Coltsville National Historical Park, now undergoing planning by the National Park Service.
Flying Aces was a monthly American periodical of short stories about aviation, one of a number of so-called "flying pulp" magazines popular during the 1920s and 1930s. Like other pulp magazines, it was a collection of adventure stories, originally printed on coarse, pulpy paper but later moved to a slick format. The magazine was launched in October 1928 by Periodical House, Inc. It featured stories written and illustrated by known authors of the day, often set against the background of World War I. Later issues added non-fiction aviation articles, as well as articles and plans for model airplanes. The latter became more prominent, and eventually the magazine was renamed Flying Models, and catered exclusively to aeromodeling hobbyists.
Captain Jerry Cox Vasconcells was a World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories. Vasconcells was inducted into the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame in its first ceremony of 1969.
Morris B. Payne (1885-1961) was an American architect from New London, Connecticut. He also reached the rank of major general in the Connecticut National Guard, commanding the 43rd Infantry Division at the beginning of World War II.
Robin David Stewart Higham was a British-American historian, specializing in aerospace and military history, who also served as a pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II.
John McGavock Grider was a fighter pilot during World War I and one of the famous American war birds who trained in England. He is credited with downing four enemy aircraft This was at the beginning of American aviation when the United States had not yet organized their own air service and defense. When America entered the war in 1917, aviation only became officially established and used in war a year later in May 1918. The air service became the newest branch of the U.S. army and had few pilots that were trained to endure combat. An aviation bill was passed in July 1917 for $640 million however it would take time to build airfields and planes.
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