Today in Technology History
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February 26
Today, we continue our year-long celebration of the centennial of flight with a look at a little-known pilot and aviation official who spent seven decades joyfully soaring the skies.
Crocker Snow was born in Boston on February 26, 1905. As a young man, he was excited by the tales of World War I flying aces, and by the stories told by one of his brothers, a naval aviator. Another brother took Snow on his first flight in 1922, in a biplane. That brother was killed in a plane crash the next year, but even such a painful lesson in the dangers of aviation didn’t diminish Snow’s interest in flying. In 1927, he received Massachusetts pilot license No. 5; it was signed by Orville Wright.
Snow gave rides and flying lessons, and one of his passengers (and perhaps a student) was a social worker who wanted to fly over Boston to drop leaflets. Her name? Amelia Earhart.
In 1928, Snow founded Skyways, the first commercial airline to service Boston. About a decade later, he was given a government job, directing the Massachusetts Aeronautic Commission. He remained on that commission for four decades, only taking time off to serve in World War II.
During the war, Snow mapped out polar routes that U.S. planes could take to reach Europe, in case Germany conquered Britain. The American military depended on his administrative skills to build airstrips and air bases in places like Maine, Newfoundland and Iceland. He also saw service in the Pacific, flying more than 20 bombing missions and commanding the first B-29 raids on Tokyo. After the war, he returned to his government post, and he became a nationally recognized expert on urban airports.
Crocker Snow continued to fly for the rest of his life. His last solo flight was a year before he died in 1999 at the age of 94. Even though he flew 140 types of planes in his lifetime, for most of his final years he piloted a small single-engine plane he bought in 1947, in which he logged more than 900,000 miles. In 1997, Snow published an autobiographical book that includes accounts of his exploits, including charming depictions of his many flights -- for instance, he talks about how he used cows to navigate on his first cross-country flight. It’s obvious that he was a man who spent his long life doing what he loved best: hopping in a plane, taking to the air, and reveling in flight.
Related links:
Click here to read more about Crocker Snow, and to see a picture of his first pilot’s license.
Some information in today’s tech history message came from an article called "The Papers of Crocker Snow," written by Mary Collins for the August/September edition of Air & Space magazine.
Click here to read about Crocker Snow’s book, Log Book: A Pilot’s Life, published in 1997.
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