Augustus Post papers

1913-1947

Augustus Post (1873-1952) was a pioneer aviator, editor, author, and lecturer on aeronautics. He started ballooning in 1900 and was one of the first group of heavier-than-air pilots after the Wright brothers. He was a charter member of the Aero Club of America and served as its secretary for twenty years. In 1919 he drew up the regulations for the New York to Paris flight contest that Charles Lindbergh won in 1927. Post owned the first automobile in New York City and helped found the American Automobile Association. He also was associated with the Boy Scouts of America, wrote articles about various topics, and was a ballad singer. Collection consists of letters to Post regarding speaking and singing engagements in churches, oratorio programs and private musicales; and notes of appreciation, reflecting Post's interests in aeronautics, music, Boy Scouts, philanthropic societies, and psychical and theosophic activities. Also, some papers of the Early Birds, the Aero Club and the National Association for Music in Hospitals, 1925-1932.