Lahm, Frank

Lahm, Frank (Purdy)

(1877–1963) aviator; born in Mansfield, Ohio. The son of a balloonist, he graduated from West Point in 1901, served in the cavalry, and transferred to the Signal Corps in 1907. A pioneer aviator, he trained with Wilbur Wright and in 1909 became one of the army's first two certified pilots. Lahm organized the American Expeditionary Force in France in 1917. In the 1930s he served as attaché for air in France, Spain, and Belgium. He retired from the service in 1941.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.