Edson Fessenden Gallaudet is a little-known Aviation Pioneer. His Father (and grandfather) are more famously known for their work in the field of deaf education. His father was the founder of Gallaudet University. Edson founded the Gallaudet Engineering Company in 1908 in Norwich, Connecticut. In 1909 he built his first airplane. He tested his first seaplane prototype, the Gallaudet D-1 in the Thames River near Gales Ferry, Connecticut. The Gallaudet Engineering Company was incorporated in July 1910, and it became the Gallaudet Aircraft Corporation in 1917. It is credited as being the first aircraft factory in America. The location of the factory was at the foot of Shipping Street in the Thamesville section of Norwich. See below:
