Ivan Rhuele "Van" Gates(January 15, 1890 – November 24, 1932) was an American aviator and entrepreneur. While a member of theSan Francisco Police Department,he is credited with being the first to transport a prisoner by air. He founded or co-founded thebarnstormingGates Flying Circus, which attained much success and fame in the 1920s. Later, he and designer Charles Healy Day established the Gates-Day Aircraft Company, subsequently renamed theNew Standard Aircraft Company,to design and manufacture airplanes.
Ivan R. Gates | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ivan Rhuele Gates January 15, 1890 Rockford, Michigan,U.S. |
| Died | November 24, 1932(aged 42) Manhattan, New York,U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Barnstormer, entrepreneur |
| Spouses |
|
Early life
editGates was born inRockford, Michigan,[1][2]to English-Scottish parents.[3]His mother died when he was two. The family later moved to Detroit, where he attended high school for three years. At 18, he set out for California.[3]
In 1910, he was a car salesman[4]and car racer[3][5][6]in San Francisco. That year, French aviatorLouis Paulhanwas on a tour of the United States, participating in airshows and competitions. The weather was bad on January 24, but Paulhan flew aFarmanbiplanefor 12 minutes overTanforan Racetrackafter conditions marginally improved,[7]showing Gates there was money to be made in aviation.[1]
Barnstormer, entrepreneur and policeman
editHe purchased a biplane from the Kansas City doctor who had built it, paying $2000.[1]His Swiss aviator partner took one look at the flimsy airplane and left.[1]Later, Gates took it for a ride and managed to rise to 20 feet (6.1 m) on his maiden flight.[1]He obtained his pilot's license in 1911,[8]qualifying him for membership in theEarly Birds of Aviation.[9]
Gates entered the1915 American Grand Prize,driving a Renault, but was forced to withdraw before the start[2][10]because the car was considered dangerous.[11]
In late June 1917, he promoted and managed "Oakland's first Used Car Show",[12]and Ivan R. Gates & Co. regularly advertised its used cars "truthfully represented" in theSan Francisco Examiner.[13]
On November 1, 1919,San Francisco Policeofficer Ivan R. Gates flew James Kelly, detained for carrying concealed weapons, fromAlamedato San Francisco, delivering him to Chief of Police D. A. White.[14][15]Kelly was afraid of flying, but was persuaded to go along by the assurance he would be given the minimum sentence of six months and parole in four.[3]The feat made the news across the United States and Canada. Newspapers such as theBoston Globestated it was the first time a prisoner had been transported by air.[3][16][17][18]
Gates became a showman, founding[19][20]or co-founding withClyde Pangborn[21][22]the Gates Flying Circus in 1921. It was the most spectacular of the barnstorming outfits in the 1920s, attracting in its heyday tens of thousands to a single show.[23]ATimemagazine article estimated it staged 2000 air meets in 44 states.[1]It also toured Canada and Mexico.[14]Among his pilots were "Upside-Down" Pangborn,Didier MassonandWilliam S. Brock.[24]Pangborn was the outfit's half-owner, chief pilot and operating manager.[22]Gates had been Masson's manager in the 1910s.[25]Gates himself did not fly much, accumulating only 600 hours overall.[1]His car racing experience proved useful; for the stunts involving switching between an airplane and a car, he was the driver.[3]
Accord to theChicago Tribune,Gates felt the days of barnstorming were coming to an end,[26]with aviation becoming more commonplace and the government adding ever more safety regulations, so on October 17, 1927, he teamed up with Charles Healy Day, designer of theStandard Jairplane, to form theGates-Day Aircraft Companyto design and build aircraft and to operate the Gates Flying Circus.[27]He eventually sold his interest in the company and formed the Gates Aircraft Corporation and the Gates Flying Service,[26]the latter based atHolmes Airportin New York.[28]The onset of theGreat Depressiondrove the Gates-Day Aircraft Company, by then renamed the New Standard Aircraft Company, into bankruptcy in 1931,[29]and Gates' new businesses also foundered.[26]
Personal life
editIn 1912, Gates married wealthy widow Azalene E. Deming. They divorced, with the final decree being obtained on November 17, 1916.[30]
The following day, Gates married Clemence Bordenave Thompson, the young widow of millionaire stockbroker Frank H. Thompson and an aspiring opera singer.[31]They separated in February 1919, and she sued for divorce in June 1921.[32]
At the time of his death, he was married to Hazel, herself a pilot.[14]
Death
editWith his money and health gone, on November 24, 1932, the despondent 42-year-old committed suicide by jumping from hisManhattanapartment, despite the frantic attempts of his diminutive wife to stop him.[1]
Legacy
editIn 1976, he was inducted into theNew Jersey Aviation Hall of Fame.[33]
A collection of scrapbooks, photographs and documents is held byWright State University.[8]TheMuseum of Flighthas a Gates Flying Circus collection.[24]
References
edit- ^abcdefgh"Aeronautics: Ringling of the Air".Time.December 5, 1932.
- ^ab"Ivan Gates".champcarstats.Retrieved2024-01-07.
- ^abcdef"A Showman to the End".New York Daily News.December 4, 1932 – viaNewspapers.
- ^"Personairlities".Aero Digest.July 1932. p. 36.
- ^"Racers Hold Second, Final Trial Spin".Los Angeles Times.February 27, 1915. p. 7.
- ^"Eighteen Speedy Cars Enter Auto Race at District Fair".The Fresno Morning Republican.September 24, 1915. p. 12.
- ^Brandt, Frederick A. (January 25, 1910)."Rides on Wings of Wind 12 Miles in 12 Minutes".San Francisco Examiner.p. 2 – viaNewspapers.
- ^ab"New Collection: Ivan Gates Collection".Wright State UniversityLibraries' Special Collections and Archives. 15 January 2020.
- ^"Pictures of People and Events in the World's News".Honolulu Star-Bulletin.December 29, 1928 – viaNewspapers.
- ^"Driving Sensational Race While Rain Pours".Tulare Advance-Register.February 27, 1915 – viaNewspapers.
- ^"Prospects Dark for Vanderbilt Cup".Motor Age.March 4, 1915.
- ^"Auto Show Planned".Oakland Tribune.May 24, 1917. p. 5.
- ^"Ivan R. Gates & Co".San Francisco Examiner.October 10, 1919. p. 20.
- ^abcTaylor, Sloan (December 4, 1932)."Gates, Aviation Barnum".New York Daily News– viaNewspapers.
- ^"To Jail by Airplane".Montreal Gazette.November 3, 1919.
- ^"Odd Items From Everywhere".The Boston Globe.November 11, 1919. p. 16 – viaNewspapers.
- ^"The Black Maria has a Rival in the Airplane".The Atlanta Constitution.December 11, 1919 – viaNewspaper.
Ivan R. Gates, San Francisco's first aero policeman... delivering his prisoner, James Kelly, to Chief of Police D. A. White...
- ^"Here's Your Prisoner, Chief-By Air".San Francisco Examiner.November 2, 1919. p. 11 – viaNewspapers.
- ^"Gates, Stunt Flyer, Ends Life by Leap".The New York Times.November 25, 1932.
- ^"Barnstormers".PBS.Archived fromthe originalon 2021-06-03.Retrieved2021-05-30.
- ^"Pangborn, Clyde Edward".National Aviation Hall of Fame.Archived fromthe originalon 2021-06-17.Retrieved2021-05-30.
- ^ab"Pangborn, Clyde Edward, approximately 1893-1958".Museum of Flight.
- ^"Can You Outdo This??".San Diego Air & Space Museum.
- ^ab"Box: Three, Folder: 5-6 - Gates Flying Circus, Circa 1920s".Museum of Flignt.
- ^"Local Notes".San Francisco Chronicle.March 15, 1912 – viaNewspapers.
- ^abc"Ivan R. Gates, Circus Airman, Leaps to Death".Chicago Tribune.November 25, 1932 – viaNewspapers.
- ^"Gates-Day Aircraft Corporation".Paterson New Jersey News.August 30, 1928 – viaNewspapers.
- ^"Gates Flying Service, Inc., New York, N. Y."The Baltimore Sun.May 7, 1929 – viaNewspapers.
- ^Pattillo, Donald M. (1998).A History in the Making: 80 Turbulent Years in the American General Aviation Industry.New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 12–13.
- ^"First Mrs. Gates Mars Honeymoon By Court Order".San Francisco Examiner.December 10, 1916 – viaNewspapers.
- ^"Millionaire's Widow Weds / Mrs. Thompson Is Bride".San Francisco Examiner.December 6, 1916 – viaNewspapers.
- ^"Aviator Sued for Divorce by Singer".San Francisco Examiner.June 4, 1921 – viaNewspapers.
- ^"Hall of Fame Inductees".Aviation Hall of Fame and Museum of New Jersey.