Lawrence Sperry

Lawrence Sperry (1892 to 1923) was an American aviation pioneer who invented the aircraft autopilot and is credited with the artificial horizon, an attitude instrument still used on most aircraft. The third son of Elmer Sperry, co-inventor of the gyrocompass, he demonstrated his autopilot with great success in France in 1914. He also made early flights with his wife, the film actress Winifred Allen, and was later honored by the International Air and Space Hall of Fame in 1979 and the Naval Aviation Hall of Honor in 1992. In December 1923 he took off in a Verville-Sperry Messenger from England for France in fog and never arrived, and his body was found in the English Channel the next month. The Lawrence Sperry Award of the AIAA recognizes young contributors to aeronautics.