Biplanes

Soldiers walk in formation on a road accompanied by several mounted men. Judging by the soldiers’ heavy clothing, it must be winter. This group may be the 26th Infantry, Theodore and Archibald Roosevelt’s regiment. Following sequence is of biplanes flying in formation. Third sequence is shot at a hangar where men appear to be preparing a plane for flight. The second and third sequences may be of Quentin Roosevelt’s squadron, the 95th. The last sequence probably represents Kermit Roosevelt’s regiment, the 7th Field Artillery. In this sequence a group of men load and fire a cannon. Location undetermined; film, or portions of it, probably shot in France.

Collection

Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound

Creation Date

1918

Creator(s)

Unknown

While participating in the Missouri State Republican Party’s campaign on October 11, 1910, Theodore Roosevelt is invited to fly in a biplane with Archibald Hoxsey as pilot. Accompanied by Herbert S. Hadley, Governor of Missouri, and two men who appear to be Henry W. Kiel, Mayor of St. Louis, and Sheriff Louis Nolte, Roosevelt arrives in a motorcade at Kinloch Aviation Field. A man, who appears to be Hoxsey, inspects the plane. Medium shot of Roosevelt as he enters the passenger seat of the biplane; long shot of plane flying. Roosevelt alights from the plane, joins the waiting crowd, enters an automobile, and drives away in a motorcade. Roosevelt was the first president to experience flight.

Collection

Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound

Creation Date

1910

Creator(s)

Unknown

Postcard showing an airplane flying near the Eiffel Tower. The Seine River is visible in front of the Eiffel Tower and The Grande Roue de Paris is visible to the right of the Eiffel Tower. Charles C. Myers notes this is one of the first airplanes to successfully circle the Eiffel Tower, a feat which several individuals lost their lives attempting. Myers comments cards such as this are sold at the Eiffel Tower post office as souvenirs.

Collection

Charles C. Myers Collection

Creation Date

1910-12-02

Creator(s)

ND Phot.; Myers, Charles C. (Charles Cleveland), 1879-1942

Postcard showing the Eiffel Tower, the Grande Roue de Paris, and the surrounding buildings as see from a passing biplane. Charles C. Myers notes the visible frame work of the biplane in the photograph.

Collection

Charles C. Myers Collection

Creation Date

1910

Creator(s)

ND Phot.; Myers, Charles C. (Charles Cleveland), 1879-1942

John G. Staudt chronicles Quentin Roosevelt’s service in World War I with a focus on his time at the aviation instruction center at Issoudun, France. Staudt challenges the assertions of other historians and believes that Roosevelt’s greatest contribution to the war effort was not getting killed in combat, but rather his work in organizing and leading flight instruction for fellow aviators. Staudt notes that Roosevelt was plagued by anxiety about not serving at the front for much of his time overseas, and he stresses that Roosevelt was well liked by the men under his command. Staudt cites a contemporary source who claims that Roosevelt was a brave and skilled, but reckless pilot.

Seven photographs, including two of Roosevelt, a map, and two illustrations supplement the text.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Art Koch reveals the subject and context of the fourth “TR-era image” which shows Moore’s Building in Oyster Bay, New York, which served as summer offices for President Theodore Roosevelt from 1903 to 1908. The fifth image in the series shows Roosevelt sitting next to a pilot in an early biplane.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1902

Creator(s)

Koch, Art

Art Koch reveals the subject and context of the fifth “TR-era image” which shows Theodore Roosevelt sitting in a biplane next to its pilot, Arch Hoxsey, in 1910. Roosevelt went on a four minute flight in what is considered the first ride by a United States president on an airplane. Koch introduces the sixth image in the series which features a stereoscope card with a photograph of a ship tied up at a dock.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1910-10-11

Creator(s)

Koch, Art

Photographs of Lieutenant Quentin Roosevelt seated in the cockpit of a biplane and of Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt standing in a jeep named “Rough Rider” appear on the front and back covers of this issue.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1942-1944

Creator(s)

Unknown

The front cover of the Summer, 1991 issue of the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal features a photograph of Theodore Roosevelt preparing for a ride on an early model airplane in 1910 while the back cover shows Roosevelt embracing his friend James Cardinal Gibbons at a Liberty Loan rally in Baltimore, Maryland in 1918.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1918

Creator(s)

Theodore Roosevelt Association

On October 20, 1919, as part of opening day ceremonies of Roosevelt Week, to honor Theodore Roosevelt and raise funds for the restoration of Roosevelt House in New York City, military aviators fly from Hazelhurst Field, Mineola, New York, to Oyster Bay to drop wreaths on Roosevelt’s grave site in Young’s Memorial Cemetery. The film has scenes of two pilots sitting in a biplane with an emblem showing the name of Mitchel Field, a picture of a dog, and the numbers 41866. The rear pilot is given two wreaths, one with a ribbon inscribed “American Legion” and the other “Spanish American War Veterans.” There is a scene of the biplane taking off, then aerial views of what is probably Oyster Bay and the surrounding area. The wreath is dropped, the a group of men retrieve it and carry both wreaths to Roosevelt’s grave site. The final views are of two men in uniform placing the wreaths on Roosevelt’s grave with the tombstone visible.

Collection

Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound

Creation Date

1919-10-20

Creator(s)

Unknown

President Roosevelt, wearing a William H. Taft campaign button and carrying a miniature White House, declares to William Loeb that Washington, D.C., is indeed the place for them. Roosevelt’s bulldog Pete follows along at his feet. A teddy bear exclaims, “Just gaze at the improvements since June! My!” while a biplane circles the Capitol.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1907-1908

Creator(s)

Berryman, Clifford Kennedy, 1869-1949

Theodore Roosevelt, wearing a suit and hat and sporting a large pin and ribbon, is shown seated in a biplane. A man in front of Roosevelt, whose back is to the camera, makes adjustments in preparation for flight.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site

Creation Date

Unknown

Creator(s)

Unknown