Our Namesake

The Hargraves Institute is named after the aviation pioneer and inventor Lawrence Hargrave who believed in open communications and that his inventions were there to benefit anybody who wished to use them.

Quintessential nineteenth-century gentleman, scientist of independent means; gifted explorer; astronomer; amateur historian; mason and practical inventor.

On 12 November 1894 Lawrence Hargrave, the Australian inventor of the box kite, linked four of his kites together, added a sling seat, and was lifted 16 feet (4.9 metres) into the air.

By demonstrating that it was possible to build a safe and stable flying machine, Hargrave opened the door to other inventors and pioneers.  He refused to patent his inventions, preferring them to benefit anybody who wished to use them.  He believed passionately in open communication within the scientific community.  The founding members of the Hargraves Institute wish to emulate his philosophy.

The Institute takes its name from the first commercially available aircraft, which was built in Europe by Gabriel Voisin.  Voisin called the box-wing cells 'Hargraves'.