John T. Daniels, Date of Birth, Date of Death
TweetJohn T. Daniels
American photographer
Date of Birth: 31-Jul-1873
Date of Death: 31-Jan-1948
Profession: photographer
Nationality: United States
Zodiac Sign: Leo 
About John T. Daniels
- John Thomas Daniels, Jr.
- (July 31, 1873 – January 31, 1948) was a member of the U.S.
- Life-Saving Station in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, who took the photograph of the first powered flight on December 17, 1903.
- The flight was by the Wright brothers flying their Wright Flyer.
- Daniels, who had never seen a camera before, later said that he was so excited by seeing the Flyer rising that he nearly forgot Orville Wright's instructions to squeeze the bulb triggering the shutter.
- The camera that he operated was a Gundlach Korona V view camera, which used 5-by-7-inch glass-plate negatives.
- The camera was owned by the Wright brothers, who were careful to record the history-making moment, and also to preserve a record for any future patent claims.
- The plate was not developed until the Wright Brothers returned to Ohio.The Wrights made four flights that day; three were photographed: the first, third and fourth.
- After the Flyer was hauled back from the fourth flight, a powerful gust of wind caught it.
- Daniels grabbed a strut in an attempt to hold down the aircraft, but he was caught between the wings as the Flyer flipped end over end.
- Daniels was not seriously hurt, but the Flyer was destroyed with even the engine block split in half.
- Daniels would tell the story of the day he "survived the first airplane crash" for the remainder of his life.
- Daniels died January 31, 1948, one day after Orville Wright's passing. Life-Saving Stations were located along U.S.
- coastlines to provide emergency rescues for crew and passengers of ships foundering offshore.
- Members of stations were typically known as "surfmen".
- The service was merged in 1915 into the new U.S.
- Coast Guard.
Read more at Wikipedia