National Air and Space Museum Archives

Weldon B. Cooke Collection

Summary

Collection ID:
NASM.1998.0001
Creators:
Cooke, Weldon B., 1884-1914
Dates:
1911-1948
bulk 1911-1914
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.45 Cubic feet
(1 legal document box)
Repository:
The Weldon B. Cooke Collection consists of newspaper articles and photographs relating to Cooke and the various aircraft he built or flew, including the Diamond, Wiseman-Cook, Sandusky Tractor, and Aeromaid aircraft. There are also severala few broadsides from events Cooke participated in, along with a program and ticket from the "3rd International Aviation Meet, 1912."

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This collection consists of newspaper articles and photographs relating to Cooke and the various aircraft he built or flew, including the Diamond, Wiseman-Cook, Sandusky Tractor, and Aeromaid aircraft. There are also a few broadsides from events Cooke participated in, along with a program and ticket from the "3rd International Aviation Meet, 1912."
Note: The digital images in this finding aid were repurposed from scans made by an outside contractor for a commercial product and may show irregular cropping and orientation in addition to color variations resulting from damage to and deterioration of the original objects.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The Weldon B. Cooke Collection is arranged by content type.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Weldon B. Cooke (1884-1914) was a flying pioneer involved in aviation as a pilot, mechanic, and builder. Cooke graduated from the California School of Mechanical Arts and the College of Electrical Engineering, University of California. In 1910, he built a Montgomery-type glider, and during the summer of 1911 he taught himself to fly in a Curtiss-type biplane: the Diamond. In this aircraft, Cooke became involved with exhibition flying and participated in several air meets, including the 1912 Los Angeles meet. Cooke soon become involved in building aircraft, beginning with his rework of an aircraft which had been built by Ben Noonan, Don Prentiss, and Fred Wiseman: the "Wiseman-Cooke." In this aircraft, Cooke participated in exhibition flying and carried the first official mail at Eureka, CA in 1912. Late in 1912, he left the exhibition flying business to form the Weldon B. Cooke Aeroplane Company in Sandusky, Ohio, where he built a Tractor Biplane Flying Boat. He left Ohio to assist with the operation of the Benoist Company's early St. Petersburg-Tampa passenger air-boat line. He returned to his Sandusky company in 1914, but the company soon became bankrupt. Cooke then returned to California, where he become involved with Silas Christofferson's airline between Oakland and San Francisco, piloting the Christofferson Flying Boat, Aeromaid. Following his time with Christofferson, Cooke returned to exhibition flying, and died in 1914 during an exhibition flight held at the Pueblo Colorado Fair Grounds.

Administration

Immediate Source of Acquisition
Almarose Cooke Worden, gift, 1997, 1998-0001.
Processing Information
Arranged, described, and encoded by Patti Williams, 1998. Digital assets attached by Allan Janus, 2020.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Use
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Preferred Citation
Weldon B. Cooke Collection, Acc. 1998.0001, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

More Information

General

General
NASMrev


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Diamond mines and mining Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cooke Aircraft Family Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Aeronautics Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Aeronautics -- Exhibitions Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Air mail service Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Aeronautics, Commercial -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Christofferson Aircraft Family Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Wiseman-Peters #2 Biplane Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Publications Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cooke, Weldon B., 1884-1914 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Weldon B. Cooke Aeroplane Co. Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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