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Sir Arthur Whitten Brown (July 23, 1886 - October 4, 1948) was, as a Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force together with Captain John Alcock, the navigator of the first successful non-stop transatlantic flight, from St John's, Newfoundland to Clifden, Connemara, Ireland which took place on 14 June 1919 departing St Johns' at 1.45 p.m. local time, and landing in Derrygimla bog 16 hours and 12 minutes later after flying 1980 miles. The flight was made in a modified Vickers Vimy bomber, and won a £10,000 prize offered by London's Daily Mail newspaper for the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic.
Arthur Whitten Brown was born in Glasgow. He began his career in engineering before the outbreak of the First World War. After being shot down and badly wounded over Germany on 10 November 1915, Brown became a prisoner of war. Once released and back in Britain, Brown continued to develop his aerial navigation skills. While visiting the engineering firm of Vickers he was asked if he would be the navigator for the proposed transatlantic flight, partnering John Alcock, who had already been chosen as pilot.
A few days after the flight both Alcock and Brown were knighted by King George V.
Brown worked then as an engineer for the Vickers company, and settled in Wales. He died on October 4, 1948) in Swansea.
See also
Alcock and Brown
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