Glamour Boy
The day Claude Grahame-White thrilled the crowd at the Boston-Harvard meet.
- By Gavin Mortimer
- AirSpaceMag.com, September 08, 2010
The Wright brothers loathed the sight of Claude Grahame-White. It wasn’t just the Englishman’s smirking—though undeniably handsome—face that riled the brothers. It was his swagger, his lifestyle and his love of self-publicity. What really drove Wilbur and Orville mad was that in their eyes, Grahame-White was a charlatan, a man who knew nothing about aeronautics except that it was a good way to make a fast buck.
As for Grahame-White, he viewed the Wrights as a pair of po-faced schemers who deserved praise for their invention, and scorn for the way they filed suit against every other airplane manufacturer. The Wrights may have given aviation to the world in 1903, but Graham-White would give the world what it now wanted—entertainment.
He first crossed the Wrights' path in the summer of 1908. Wilbur was in Europe to show the skeptics their invention, and the Englishman stood open-mouthed among the crowd at Camp d’Auvours in France. After he was introduced to Wright following the demonstration, Grahame-White described him as an “ascetic, gaunt American with watchful, hawklike eyes.”
At the age of 29, Grahame-White returned to England determined to fly. Up until then his thrills had come from automobiles and speedboats (both of which he used to impress his many lady friends), but now his attention turned to aviation. He ordered a machine from Louis Blériot’s factory in France and taught himself to fly. The news that he had soloed without a single lesson received widespread coverage, which made him realize aviation’s potential for achieving instant fame. He hired a press agent in early 1910 and instructed him “to circularize the whole of the British and foreign press to give the flights [of mine] every publicity.”
Soon Grahame-White was one of the best-known faces in Europe. Aviation meets were all the rage, and every promoter in town wanted his event to be graced with the dashing Grahame-White. Here, finally, was a charismatic performer, different from the grim-faced fliers who were more scientists that showmen. King Edward VII requested a private demonstration of the flying machine, but then died before Grahame-White could oblige. Instead the airman toured the country’s meets, collecting more than $75,000 (equivalent to approximately $1,200,000 today) in prize and appearance money.
Grahame-White’s exploits didn’t go unnoticed in the States. Aviation meets were picking up in popularity, and when J.V. Martin of the Harvard Aeronautical Society came to Europe in the summer of 1910 seeking aviators to compete in the Boston-Harvard Meet, the name at the top of his wish list was Claude Grahame-White. He got his man with the promise of a $50,000 retainer and all expenses paid.
Grahame-White arrived in Boston on September 1 to a quayside lined with reporters and fans. One female journalist, Phoebe Dwight, warned Boston’s menfolk to be on their guard if they took their sweethearts to the airshow: “For before you know it these hearts may be fluttering along at the tail of an airplane wherein sits a daring and spectacular young man who has won the title of the matinee idol of the aviation field–Claude Grahame-White.” Dwight’s prediction was on target: By the end of the Boston-Harvard Meet women were falling over themselves to take a short ride with the famous airman. The Englishman, whose love of money was as ardent as his love of the fairer sex, charged $500 for a five-minute flight.
But Grahame-White wasn’t in America just to snatch the money and thrill the girls. He was also a competitor, intent on winning races against other fliers. In Boston he claimed the blue ribbon event, the 33-mile race from the airfield to Boston Light (in Boston Harbor), for which he won $10,000.
Comments (3)
Imagine my surprise to find my deceased grandfather's best friend on your website. What is a shame is that,my husband and I were up in D.C this summer and were at the Smithsonian.I remember Mr. and Mr Grahame-White from my visit to Monaco in the fifties.
We are members of the Smithsonian and thoroughly enjoy our visits and magazine. We reside in South Carolina.
Posted by Carole Rhoades on October 4,2010 | 05:41 PM
"Phoebe Dwight", the female reporter mentioned in this article, was a pseudonym for none other than Eleanor Ladd, who became novelist Earl Derr Biggers' wife in 1912.
Posted by John Meissner on November 15,2010 | 09:59 AM
Claude was my father's Great Uncle and I delighted in this article. I would love to hear from Carole Rhoades about knowing Claude in Monaco.
Posted by Aliya Musa on April 24,2012 | 07:41 AM