The Harmon Trophy is a set of three international trophies, to be awarded annually to the world's outstanding aviator, aviatrix, and aeronaut (balloon or dirigible). A fourth trophy, the "National Trophy", was awarded from 1926 through 1938 to the most outstanding aviator in each of the twenty-one member countries and again from 1946–1948 to honor Americans who contributed to aviation. The award was established in 1926 by Clifford B. Harmon, a wealthy balloonist and aviator.
The awards are described by the Clifford B. Harmon Trust as:
- "American awards for the most outstanding international achievements in the arts and/or science of aeronautics for the preceding year, with the art of flying receiving first consideration."[1]
World War II and Harmon's death edit
Prior to World War II, the award was administered by the International League of Aviators (Ligue Internationale des Aviateurs), an organization founded by Harmon to serve as "an agent for Peace and National security."[2] The League became defunct during the war and Harmon's death on June 25, 1945 in Cannes, France[3] put the awards in turmoil. Harmon left $55,000 of his estate to continue funding the award in "perpetuity," but Harmon's relatives challenged the bequest.[4] Ultimately, a trust fund of $48,431 was created in 1948.[5]
During the period the awards were in litigation (1945–1948), the American Section of the League awarded the International Aviator Trophy to three U.S. leaders in aviation. However, since the awards were not approved by other League Sections, the awards are technically invalid. Also, these three awards were given without consideration to the "art of flying" and the awards did not recognize a superlative aviation achievement, rather recognized American aviation industry leaders. President Truman's staff questioned the award to Alexander de Seversky, Secretary of the Air Force Stuart Symington stating, "he [de Seversky] did absolutely nothing to deserve it."[6] Truman also did not make time to present the 1948 award to Trans World Airlines CEO Ralph Damon[7] or Brazilian aviation pioneer Francisco Pignatari[8] The award to Pan American World Airways President Juan Trippe in 1946 was the only one presented without debate.
Since 1997 or 1998, the National Aeronautic Association has been responsible for awarding the trophies. With the exception of the Aeronaut trophy, all are inactive.
The trustees wrestled with how to treat space flight. Bound by the court to offer only three trophies, the trustees first agreed that "feats of piloting in both earth orbiting or outer space vehicles will be considered for the Harmon Awards provided the vehicles are controlled by their pilots rather than from the ground."[9] The advisory committee directed the trustees to alternate awarding the aeronaut trophy between balloonists and astronauts, but the trustees decided to offer the aviator award to aviation and astronaut recipients.[10] A fifth trophy was created in 1969 to honor achievements in space flight.[11]
Some aviatrix awards from 1980–1990 were awarded by the Ninety-Nines based on research performed by Fay Gillis Wells. This work was not coordinated with the NAA or Smithsonian.
The original awards were 24-inch-tall bronze statues.[12] The aviator trophy depicts World War I flying ace Raoul Lufbery launching a biplane set next to an eagle about to take wing. The statuette was created by sculptor Roussadana M'divani. The Smithsonian Institution acquired the aviator's trophy in 1950 from the Clifford B. Harmon Trust. The aviatrix trophy depicts a winged goddess cradling a falcon with outstretched wings. The aeronaut trophy was lost in Germany between May 1940 and October 1953 and was believed to have been sold as scrap. The three-foot-tall, 150-pound statue of five aviators holding the globe on their shoulders was found in a junk store and subsequently given to the Smithsonian after the presentation of the 1952 awards.[13]
List of award winners edit
The following is an incomplete list compiled from several sources. The Aeronaut, National and Astronaut categories have not been listed in a central location. The NAA and the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum worked to assemble a complete list to be published in conjunction with the NAA's hundredth anniversary in 2005, however this project was not completed and it appears that the source documents for a period of awards were destroyed.
| Year | Aviator[14] | Aviatrix | Aeronaut[15] | National (until 1949) see below for Astronaut since 1967 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | Lt. Col. Georges Pelletier d'Oisy, France[16] | No award presented | General Umberto Nobile, Italy | Shirley J. Short, USA; Cdr. Hirosi Abe, Japan; Maj. Mario de Bernardi, Italy[17] |
| 1927 | Col. Charles A. Lindbergh, USA | Lady Mary Bailey, UK | Commander Charles E. Rosendahl, USA | Joseph le Brix, Dieudonné Costas, France; Miguel García Granados, Guatemala; Francesco de Pinedo, Italy; Sidney Webster, UK; G. A. Koppen, Nederlands; José Manuel Sarmento, Portugal; Ribeiro Barros, Brazil |
| 1928 | Col. Arturo Ferrarin, Italy | Lady Mary Bailey, UK | Dr. Hugo Eckener, Germany | Carl Eielson;[18] Charles Kingsford Smith Australia[19] |
| 1929 | Lieut. Carl Ben Eielson, USA[20] | Miss Winifred Spooner, UK | Dr. Hugo Eckener, Germany | Maj. James H. Doolittle, USA;[21] Hugh Grosvenor, Australia[19] |
| 1930 | Maj. Dieudonne Costes, France | Miss Amy Johnson Mollison, UK | Dr. Hugo Eckener, Germany (dirigible); Ward T. Van Orman, USA (spherical balloon) | Lt. Cdr. Frank Hawks; Lt. Carlos de Haya González de Ubieta es:Carlos de Haya Gonzalez, Spain; Charles Kingsford-Smith, Australia[19] |
| 1931 | Air Marshal Italo Balbo, Italy[22] | Mrs. Maryse Bastié, France[22] | Dr. Hugo Eckener, Germany (dirigible); Prof. Auguste Piccard, Switzerland (spherical balloon)[22] | Clyde Pangborn, USA; Hugh Herndon, USA; Ruth Nichols, USA; Air Commodore; Charles Kingsford Smith Australia; Bert Hinkler, UK; Amy Johnson, UK; Peggy Salaman, UK; Captain von Gronau, Germany; Marga von Etzdorf, Germany[22] |
| 1932 | Wolfgang von Gronau; Germany[23] | Mrs. Amelia Earhart Putnam, USA[23] | Prof. Auguste Piccard, Switzerland (spherical balloon); Capt. Ernst A. Lehmann, (dirigible)[23] | Roscoe Turner, USA; Warren D. Williams, USA (dirigible); Lt. Cdr. Charles E. C. Rosendahl, USA (dirigible); Lt. Thomas G. W. Settle, USA (spherical balloon);[23] Lt. Carlos de Haya González de Ubieta es:Carlos de Haya Gonzalez, Spain |
| 1933 | Wiley Post, USA[24] | Maryse Hiltz, France[24] | Lt. Cdr. Thomas G. W. Settle, USA (Spherical Balloon); Dr. Hugo Eckener, Germany (dirigible)[24] | Mrs. Anne Morrow Lindbergh, USA; Lt. Cdr. Charles E. C. Rosendahl, USA (dirigible); Lt. Cdr. Thomas W. G. Settle, USA (spherical balloon); Francesco Agello, Italy; Mariano Barberan, Spain (posthumously); Herberts Cukurs, Latvia; Joaquin Collar, Spain (posthumously);[24] Iwan W. Smirnoff, Netherlands |
| 1934 | C. W. A. Scott; UK[25] | Hélène Boucher, France (posthumously)[25] | Capt. Ernst A. Lehmann, Germany (dirigible); Mme. Jeannette Piccard, Switzerland (United States) (spherical balloon)[25] | Miss Laura Ingalls, USA; Dean C. Smith, USA; Lt. Cdr. H. V. Wiley, USA (dirigible); Maj. William E. Kepner, USA (spherical balloon); Edgardo Bonnet, Argentina; Maria Leloir de Udaondo, Argentina, Charles Kingsford-Smith, Australia, Teddy Franchomme, Belgium; E. Demuyter, Belgium, Mlle. S. Lippens, Belgium; Michael Hansen, Denmark; U. Makela, Finland; Jean Mermoz, France; Raymond Delmotte, France; Germain Bonnet, France; Heini Dittmar, Germany; Hans Kurt Fleming, Germany; Elly Beinhorn, Germany; K. D. Parmentier, Holland; Francesco Agello, Italy; Momosaburo Shinno, Japan; Choko Mabuchi, Japan; Kikuko Matsumoto, Japan; Capt. Jerzy Bajan, Poland; Franciszek Hynek, Poland; Humberto da Cruz, Portugal; Herman Baron, San Salvador; Luang Prung Prechakas, Siam; Ramon Torres, Spain; Walther Mittelholzer, Switzerland[25] |
| 1935 | Capt. Edwin Musick, USA[26] | Jean Batten, UK (New Zealand); Amelia Earhart, USA[26] | Capt.Orvil Arson Anderson, USA; Capt.Albert William Stevens USA;(spherical balloon); Capt. Hans von Schiller, Germany (dirigible)[26] | Arnold Looz-Corswarem, Belgium; Michael Hansen, Denmark; Harry Frank Broadbent, UK (Australia); André Japy, France; Bertha Alisch, Germany; Elly Beinhorn, Germany; Mario Stoppani, Italy; Casimiro Babbi, Italy; Marchesa Carina Negrone, Italy; Hoja Dzenitis, Lithuania; Gomez Namorado, Portugal; Juan Ignacio Pombo, Spain[26] |
| 1936 | Howard Hughes, USA[27] | Jean Batten, UK (New Zealand)[27] | Capt. Ernst A. Lehmann, Germany; Ernest De Muyter, Belgium | Mrs. Louise Thaden, USA; James Diamond, USA;[27] Carl Götze Jr., Germany; Harry Frank Broadbent, UK (Australia) |
| 1937 | Henry T. Merrill, USA[28] | Jean Batten, UK (New Zealand)[28] | No award presented | Miss Jacqueline Cochran, USA; Howard Hughes, USA[28] |
| 1938 | Howard Hughes, USA;[29] | Jacqueline Cochran, USA[29] | No award presented | Lt. Col. Robert Olds, USA (Diploma of Honor); Roscoe Turner, USA; Capt. Kellett and crew, UK; Michael Hansen, Denmark; Maurice Rossi, France; Elizabeth Lion, France; Capt. Alfred Henks, Germany; Hanna Reitsch, Germany; Lt. Col. Mario Pezzi, Italy; Maj. Yuzo Fujita, Japan; Capt. Viktors Eglitis, Latvia; Victor Alfredo Lara, San Salvador; Maj. Tonnard, Belgium (spherical balloon); Capt. Max Pruss, Germany (dirigible); Capt. Antoni Janusz, Poland (spherical balloon)[29] |
| 1939 | Maj. Alexander P. de Seversky, USA[30] | Jacqueline Cochran, USA[31] | No award presented | |
| 1945 | Francisco Pignatari, Brazil | |||
| 1946 | Juan T. Trippe, USA[32] | |||
| 1947 | Alexander P. de Seversky, USA[33] | |||
| 1948 | Ralph S. Damon[34] | |||
| 1949 | Louis A. Johnson[35] | |||
| 1940 to 1949[36] | Lt. Gen. James H. Doolittle, USA; Geoffrey de Havilland, UK (posthumously) (Citation of Honorable Mention); Capt. Charles E. Yeager, USA (Citation of Honorable Mention)[37] | Jacqueline Cochran, USA; Pauline Gower, UK (posthumously) (Citation of Honorable Mention)[37] | Vice Admiral Charles E. Rosendahl, USA; M. Charles Dollfus, France (Citation of Honorable Mention); Lt. Howard R. Walton, USA (posthumously) (Citation of Honorable Mention)[37] | |
| 1950 | Col. David C. Schilling, USA[38] | No award presented[38] | National prize not awarded after 1949 | |
| 1951 | Capt. Charles F. Blair Jr, USA[39] | Jacqueline Auriol, France[39] | Lt. Carl J. Seiberlich, USN[39] | |
| 1952 | Col. Bernt Balchen, USA (Norwegian-born)[40] | Jacqueline Auriol, France[40] | Walter L. Massic, USA[40] | |
| 1953 | Maj. Charles E. Yeager, USA[41] | Jacqueline Cochran, USA[41] | No award presented[41] | |
| 1954 | Major Charles E. Yeager, USA[42] | Jacqueline Cochran, USA | ||
| 1955 | Group Captain John Cunningham, UK[43] | Jacqueline Auriol, France[43] | Lt. Cdr. Charles A. Mills, USA[43] | |
| 1956 | Lt. Col. Frank K. Everest Jr., USA[44] | Jacqueline Auriol, France | Lt. Cdr. Malcolm D. Ross, USA; Lt. Cdr. Morton L. Lewis, USA[44] | |
| 1957 | Gen. Curtis E. LeMay, USA[45] | No award presented | Cdr. Jack R. Hunt, USA[45] | |
| 1958 | Maj. André Edouard Turcat, France[46] | No award presented | ||
| 1959 | Capt. Joe B. Jordan, USA[47] | No award presented | Capt. Joseph Kittinger, USA[47] | |
| 1960 | A. Scott Crossfield, USA; Capt. Joseph A. Walker, USA; Maj. Robert M. White, USA[48] | No award presented | ||
| 1961 | Lt. Col. William R. Payne, USA[49] | Jacqueline Cochran, USA[49] | Cdr. Malcolm D. Ross, USA; Lt. Cdr. Victor E. Prather, USA (posthumously)[49] | |
| 1962 | Maj. Fitzhugh L. Fulton Jr., USA[50] | No award presented[50] | Mrs. Nini Boesman, Netherlands (subsequently canceled[51])[50] | |
| 1963 | Maj. L. Gordon Cooper, USA[50] | Betty Miller, USA[50] | No award presented[50] | |
| 1964 | Max Conrad, USA[52] | Joan Merriam Smith, USA (posthumously)[52] | No award presented[52] | |
| 1965 | Commander James A. Lovell Jr.; Lt. Col. Frank Borman; Captain Wally Schirra; Maj. Thomas P. Stafford (all USA)[53] | No award presented | ||
| 1966 | Cmdr. James A. Lovell Jr.; Maj. Edwin E. Aldrin; Maj. Alvin S. White (all USA)[54][55] | Sheila Scott, UK[54] | No award presented[10] | |
| 1967 | Major William J. Knight, USA[56] | No award presented | Astronaut | |
| 1968 | Maj. Jerauld R. Gentry, USA[11] | No award presented | Col. Frank Borman; Capt. James A. Lovell Jr.; Lt. Col. William A. Anders (all USA)[11] | |
| 1969 | Squadron Leader Thomas Lecky-Thompson, UK; Squadron Leader Graham Williams, UK[57] | Turi Widerøe; Norway[57] | No award presented[57] | Neil Armstrong; Edwin E. Aldrin; Michael Collins[57] |
| 1970 | Brian Trubshaw, UK; Major André Edouard Turcat, France[58] | Sheila Scott, UK | No award presented | |
| 1971 | Lt. Col. Thomas B. Estes, USA; Lt. Col. Dewain C. Vick, USA[58] | Geraldyn Cobb, USA[58] | No award presented | |
| 1972 | Lt. Col. Edgar L. Allison, USA[59] | No award presented | No award presented | |
| 1973 | Col. Edward J. Nash, USA[59] | No award presented | Malcolm S. Forbes Sr., USA[59] | Captain Charles Conrad Jr.; Captain Paul J. Weitz; Captain Joseph Kerwin (all USA)[59] |
| 1974 | ||||
| 1975 | Lt. Col. Herbert M. Fix, USA | Marion Rice Hart, USA | ||
| 1976 | No award presented | |||
| 1977 | ||||
| 1978 | ||||
| 1979 | Byran Allen, USA | No award presented | ||
| 1980 | Lt. (jg) John Currier, USCG | No award presented | TODAY IN COAST GUARD AVIATION HISTORY – 26 OCTOBER 1980 (1 OF 3): an HH-3F #1484 assigned to Air Station Cape Cod, MA and crewed by LTJG John P. Currier (AC); LTJG Robert L. Abair (CP); AM1 David L. Seavey (FM) and AE2 Gordon R. Warren (AV) was launched at 3:40 AM in response to the 110-foot fishing vessel “TERRY T” out of New Bedford sinking with 10 crewman aboard. The eastern-rigged scallop trawler was 80 miles southeast of Nantucket in 30-foot seas, blowing snow and 60-knot winds gusting to 80 knots. The TERRY T reported “4-feet of water in the engine room” and requested dewatering pumps to help control the flooding. Link: https://cgaviationhistory.org/sar/the-rescue-of-the-crew-of-the-scalloper-terry-t/ | |
| 1981 | Jerry Foster, USA[60] | Janice Lee Brown, USA[60] | John W. Young; Capt. Robert L. Crippen, Col. Joseph H. Engle; Capt. Richard Truly (all USA)[60] | |
| 1982 | Dormon Cannon, USA; | No award presented | ||
| 1983 | No award presented | Dr. Sally Ride, USA | ||
| 1984 | Senator Barry Goldwater | Brooke Knapp, USA | ||
| 1985 | No award presented | No award presented | ||
| 1986 | Chief Warrant Officer Jon Iseminger, USA | Jeana Yeager, USA | ||
| 1987 | Allen E. Paulson, USA | Lois McCallin, USA | ||
| 1988 | Kanellos Kanellopoulos; Greece | Anne Baddour, USA | Per Lindstrand | |
| 1989 | Capt. George A. Hof Jr., USA; Dr. Max E. Shauck, USA | Gaby Kennard, Australia | ||
| 1990 | No award presented | No award presented | Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov, both Russia | |
| 1991 | No award presented | No award presented | ||
| 1992 | No award presented | No award presented | ||
| 1993 | No award presented | Vance D. Brand, USA | ||
| 1994 | No award presented | No award presented | ||
| 1995 | No award presented | Eileen M. Collins, USA | ||
- National Aeronautic Association.
Source:[61]
| Year | Aviator | Aviatrix | Aeronaut |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Steve Fossett | ||
| 1999 | Don Cameron | Dr. Bertrand Piccard; Switzerland; Brian Jones, UK | |
| 2000 | David Hempleman-Adams | ||
| 2001 | Jennifer Murray, UK (USA) | Richard Abruzzo | |
| 2002 | Steve Fossett | ||
| 2003 | Richard Abruzzo | ||
| 2004 | David Hempleman-Adams | ||
| 2005 | Carol Rymer Davis and Richard Abruzzo | ||
| 2006 | No award | ||
| 2007 | David Hempleman-Adams | ||
| 2008 | No award | ||
| 2009 | No award | ||
| 2010 | No award | ||
| 2011 | John Petrehn[62] | ||
| 2012 | No award | ||
| 2013 | No award | ||
| 2014 | No award | ||
| 2015 | Troy Bradley and Leonid Tiukhtyaev[63] | ||
| 2016 | No award | ||
| 2017 | No award | ||
| 2018 | Nicolas Tièche and Laurent Sciboz (Fribourg Freiburg Challenge Team) |