Alec Ogilvie
Alexander Ogilvie (8 June 1882 – 18 June 1962) was a British aviation pioneer, a friend of the Wright Brothers, and the seventh British person to qualify as a pilot. He was born in Marylebone, London, and educated at Rugby School and Cambridge University.
In 1908 he saw Wilbur Wright demonstrate flight in France and soon bought a Wright Biplane. He practiced at Friston, Sussex, set up a flying base at Camber Sands near Rye, and took part in aviation meetings around the country. He joined the Royal Aero Club in 1909 and earned one of the first aviator certificates in 1910. In the Gordon Bennett races at Belmont Park, New York, he finished third in 1910 and fourth the following year, earning medals. He flew Wright aircraft up to 1914, and even carried H. G. Wells as a passenger in 1913. He invented an airspeed indicator in 1912 that was later adopted by the Royal Naval Air Service.
During World War I, he joined the Royal Naval Air Service on 19 February 1915 as a squadron commander, later commanding the aircraft repair depot at Dunkirk and being promoted to acting wing commander in 1916. He joined the Air Board in 1917 as controller of the technical department, and his rank was confirmed as wing commander later that year. In 1918 he evaluated the Sopwith Snipe, and on 1 April 1918 transferred to the newly formed Royal Air Force with the rank of major (temporary lieutenant-colonel). He flew many types of aircraft and was injured in a flying accident on 8 June 1918. He left the Air Board in 1919 and was placed on the RAF unemployed list.
After the war he worked as a consulting aeronautical engineer, founding Ogilvie and Partners, which later became a limited company with him as chairman. He spent several years in Australia and, in September 1934, married Angela Le Cren (née Newbold). Ogilvie died on 18 June 1962 in Ringwood, Hampshire, at the age of 80.
This page was last edited on 1 February 2026, at 23:42 (CET).