Albert Francis Zahm

Albert Francis Zahm (1862 – July 23, 1954) was an early aeronautical experimenter, a professor of physics, and a chief of the Aeronautical Division of the U.S. Library of Congress.

He testified as an aeronautical expert in the 1910–14 lawsuits between the Wright brothers and Glenn Curtiss.

Time line of early life and work in aeronautics

Received A.B., University of Notre Dame, Indiana, 1883, A.M., 1885, M.S. 1890; M.E. Cornell University, 1892; Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, 1898. Albert's brother John was on the Notre Dame faculty while Albert was a student there.

Professor of Mathematics, University of Notre Dame 1885-1889, mathematics and mechanics, 1890-1892.

Zahm suggested to Octave Chanute to stage an International Conferences on Aerial Navigation in 1893. Zahm acted as Secretary, with Chanute as Chair.

He was a professor of mechanics (physics) at The Catholic University of America, from 1895 apparently until 1913-1914 (but one source says only till 1908).

In 1901, as part of a pioneering aeronautical laboratory, Zahm built a wind tunnel with financing from Hugo Mattullah. It operated until 1908. It has been described as "America's first significant wind tunnel."

He joined the Aero Club of America shortly after it was founded, in 1905.

Zahm's 1911 book Aerial Navigation described the historical development of experimental aircraft that led to functional airplanes.

Testimony in Wrights vs. Curtiss

Zahm testified as an aeronautical expert in the 1910-1913 patent lawsuits by the Wright brothers who alleged patent infringement against inventor and manufacturer Glenn Curtiss. His testimony took over a month. He testified on behalf of the Curtiss after declining to testify for the Wrights, possibly because the Wrights refused to pay Zahm to appear as an expert witness whereas the Curtiss interests did. Zahm had been on friendly terms with both sides previously but became a long term adversary of the Wrights during and after the trial. He worked closely with Glenn Curtiss on the controversial 1914 flying tests of the (substantially rebuilt and modified) Langley Aerodrome in an attempt to show that Langley's machine had been capable of powered flight with a man aboard before the Wrights' glider was.