Dr. Lewis Boswell — Strange Alabama

Many Alabamians stubbornly insist the airplane was invented by Dr. Lewis Archer Boswell in the late nineteenth century, years before the Wright brothers packed their bags for the Outer Banks.

Dr. Boswell was born in Virginia but in 1869, he moved with his new bride to Red Hill, her family's Talladega County plantation. He'd published articles on aeronautics and had even built a toy-size flying machine and, according to several witnesses, built a full-size version in Alabama. Those who saw the doctor fly his contraption even claim he made several trips across his cotton fields using a barn roof as a launching platform.

Alas, Dr. Boswell left no flight logs, no photographs, and no evidence. He did however patent a propeller wheel in 1874 and a steering mechanism in 1903. Talladedga's Municipal airport was renamed Boswell Field in his honor and his plantation is now owned by the International Motorsports.