George Thompson

George W. Thompson (April 3, 1888 – August 21, 1912) was a self-taught aviator, and is one of the first Coloradan flyers. He was born near Sharon Springs, Kansas. Thompson built a Mathewson biplane, a Curtiss design, and soloed it on January 4, 1911. Biography His early career was working for the Mathewson Auto Company, Denver, Colorado. The company name later became the Mathewson Aeroplane Company. Thompson made several flights on his first flying day, and in the first year, about 100 flights during 1911. He was known to travel with his aircraft throughout Colorado and also in Wyoming, especially at county fairs with aerial shows. Thompson made the first flight ever in Wyoming using a Mathewson plane for the Independence Day celebration in Gillette, Wyoming in 1911. In his short life, he built and flew nine "headless biplanes". He also helped to organize the American Federation of Aviators, and served as president in 1911-1912. Thompson's primary flights took place at the Sable airstrip, a primitive airfield and auto racing track, located between the Fitzsimons Hospital and the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, the area of the old Stapleton Airport. For some of his Colorado travels, he disassembled his aircraft and shipped it in a boxcar to his destination.