Alexander Pfitzner

Who was Alexander Pfitzner?

Alexander L. Pfitzner was a Hungarian engineer, inventor and aviation pioneer. After studying at the Hungarian University of Technology and serving in the Hungarian Army as an artillery officer, he emigrated to the United States, where he pursued a career as a designer of automobile and aircraft engines. He designed and flew the first American monoplane, the Pfitzner Flyer. Apparently depressed by its lack of success, he is reported to have committed suicide in July, 1910, although his body was never found. Following his death, reports spread that some of his friends had sighted him in New York.