Jimmie Angel
Jimmie Angel | |
---|---|
Born | James Crawford Angel August 1, 1899 |
Died | December 8, 1956 | (aged 57)
Occupation(s) | Pilot, explorer |
Known for | Discovering Angel Falls, 16 November 1933 |
James "Jimmie" Crawford Angel (August 1, 1899 – December 8, 1956) was an American
Early life
James Crawford Angel was born August 1, 1899, near Cedar Valley, Missouri, the son of Glenn Davis Angel and Margaret Belle (Marshall) Angel. Because his grandfather, James Edward Angel, was living, he was called Crawford to avoid confusion in the Angel family during his younger years. He is alleged to have been in World War I,[4] but the only certainty is that he registered for the draft on September 12, 1918.[5][6] In his Twenties he adopted the nickname "Jimmie" by which he was known for the rest of his life.[1]
Angel Falls
The falls, which cascade from the top of
On October 9, 1937, he returned to the falls with the intention of landing. On board his
The passengers were unharmed but had to trek across difficult terrain and with low food supplies for 11 days to make their way off the tepui and down to the nearest settlement at Kamarata. When word of their exploits got out, international interest in the Gran Sabana region increased dramatically, leading to in-depth scientific exploration in the following years.
His aircraft remained atop Auyantepui until 1970, when it was disassembled and brought down by Venezuelan military helicopters. Today, an El Rio Caroní can be seen outside the airport terminal at Ciudad Bolívar. The airplane was re-assembled in the city of Maracay's aviation museum.
Death
On April 17, 1956, Angel suffered a head injury while landing his plane at David, Chiriquí, Panama. Soon afterward, he had a heart attack and then suffered from various ailments for eight months, until he came down with pneumonia and went to Gorgas Hospital in Panama City, where he died on December 8, 1956. His cremated remains were first interred at the Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation in Burbank, California, but in keeping with his wishes, his wife, his two sons and two of his friends scattered his ashes over Angel Falls on July 2, 1960.[1]
Books
Spanish writer
References
- ^ a b c Angel, Karen. "The History of Jimmie Angel". Archived from the original on 16 March 2010.
- ^ "Plane Pilot Sights Highest Waterfall in World." Popular Science, April 1938, p. 37.
- .
- ^ The Truth About Jimme Angel by Karen Angel..
- ^ A check of the Missouri Soldiers database for World War I has no listing for a James C. Angel at Missouri database
- ^ A 1921 picture of Angel in Uniform shows him wearing Military Aviator Wings see Jimmy Angel Historical Project website Archived 2010-03-16 at the Wayback Machine.
- National Geographic. Vol. 175, no. #5. p. 549.
Angel's Flight - The Life of Jimmie Angel - American Aviator-Explorer - Discoverer of Angel Falls, 2019, by Karen Angel.
External links
- Clover Air Field, Santa Monica, CA biography of Jimmy Angel
- Davis-Monthan Aviation Field Register biography of Jimmy Angel
- Flight to the Lost World of Venezuela Video by Jake Howland describing visiting Angel Falls in the 1950s, including images of Angel's abandoned airplane.
- [1] the Jimmie Angel Historical Project.