Eugene Burton Ely

Eugene Burton Ely was an aviation pioneer, credited with the first shipboard aircraft take off and landing.

Ely was born in Williamsburg, Iowa and raised in Davenport, Iowa. Having completed the eighth grade, he graduated from Davenport Grammar Schoolin January 1901. Although some sources indicate that he attended and graduated from Iowa State University in 1904 , the registrar of ISU reports that there is no record of him having done so . Ely likewise does not appear in the graduations lists for Davenport High School. By 1904 he was employed as a chauffeur to the Rev. Fr. Smyth, a Catholic priest in Cosgrove, Iowa, who shared Elys love of fast driving in Father Smyths car , Ely set the speed record between Iowa City and Davenport.

Source: Wikipedia