Samuel Pierpont Langley (August 22 1834 in Roxbury, Massachusetts near Boston, – February 27 1906, Aiken, South Carolina) was an American astronomer, physicist, inventor, aeronautics pioneer and aircraft engineer. He was the third Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and the founder of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
Langley unsuccessfully competed to make the first working heavier-than-air aircraft. He was in part hindered by his use of heavy steam engines for power.
A number of things related to aviation have been named in Langley's honor, including:
