The First Flyer?

May 15, 1902 - On this day, more than a year before the Wright Brothers' famous flight at Kitty Hawk, an eccentric inventor named Lyman Gilmore claimed he successfully flew a steam-powered airplane near Grass Valley, California. Unfortunately for Gilmore, there were no witnesses.

A gifted inventor, Gilmore held patents for several impressive creations, including an 8-cylinder rotary engine and a motorized snowplow. Aviation was one of his greatest passions, and he reportedly described himself as the "Aerial Fulton," a visionary who would open the skies the same way Robert Fulton revolutionized travel with the steamboat.

Gilmore was, by most accounts, an odd bird. He rarely bathed and never cut his beard or hair. According to local legend, he believed his wild appearance helped ward off disease. He was also known for wearing a long, tattered trench coat even during the heat of summer.

Two of Gilmore's flying machines, along with many of his drawings and designs, were destroyed in a hangar fire in 1935. In his later years, he split his time between aviation experiments and prospecting for gold in one of his two mines.

In 1951, Gilmore suffered a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital barely clinging to life. Shortly before his death, he became furious after learning that hospital staff had shaved off his beard and burned his beloved coat. Gilmore claimed there was $15,000 sewn into the lining.