Aviation pioneer Glenn Luther Martin was born in Macksburg, Iowa on Jan. 17, 1886. He became interested in "flight" at the extremely early age of 6, using his mother's kitchen as a makeshift factory to produce box kites which he sold to friends and neighbors for 25 cents a piece. He would wind up spending the rest of his life looking toward the skies.

Teaching himself how to fly, Martin's real fascination with manned flight was fueled when he learned of the Wright Brothers success in Kitty Hawk, N.C. In 1909, Martin built his first airplane which he unfortunately crashed on its maiden voyage. Never discouraged, he promptly constructed his second plane out of bamboo and silk which he successfully flew for a short distance.

Following a family move to southern California, Martin began to envision the profits to be made from the manufacturing of aircraft, and he founded the Glenn L. Martin Aircraft Co. in Santa Ana, Calif. on Aug. 16, 1912. In 1916, the opportunity to merge with the Wright Brothers presented itself and the Wright-Martin Aircraft Co. was formed. Disheartened by the direction Wright-Martin took, Martin moved to Cleveland where he formed the second Glenn L. Martin Co. on Sept. 10, 1917.

Martin's association with Middle River began sometime around 1926 when he was encouraged to relocate his company to be closer to Washington, D.C. where it would be easier to lobby and bid on government contracts. Representatives acting on Martin's behalf began to secretly negotiate with property owners in Middle River to purchase enough property for the construction of his aircraft factory. To maintain the secrecy, Martin's men posed as agents of a New York City Sportsmen Club. They obtained around 1,260 acres. It all became official in 1929 when the Glenn L. Martin Co. moved from Cleveland to Middle River.

The Glenn L. Martin Co. was destined to become the second largest employer in the Baltimore Metropolitan area, at its heyday employing almost 54,000 employees. These workers would produce some of the most important aircraft for the defense of the United States and it's Allies during World War II and the Cold War, as well as constructing well known civilian aircraft like the extremely popular "China Clipper" for Pan Am Airlines. Martin's employed many people who would go on to be giants of the industry such as James McDonnell & Donald Douglas who went on to found McDonnell-Douglas, and Lawrence Bell who founded Bell Aircraft.Martin  taught William Boeing how to fly and sold him his first airplane.

At the outset of World War II, Martin's designed the B-26 Bomber which became so widely used that a total of 1,585 B-26's were built and put into service. Martin's also designed the B-29 and put 531 of these aircraft into service. Two of these B-29's went on to fame as the "Enola Gay" which dropped the Atom Bomb on Hiroshima, and the "Bock's Car" which dropped the Atom Bomb on Nagasaki.

In the 1950's and 1960's Martin's began to slowly shift from the production of airplanes and into guided missiles and space exploration. They were awarded contracts to produce the Vanguard rocket which was used by NASA to launch satellites. Martin's also took the Titan I and Titan II ICBM's and later converted both for use in the Apollo space program.

In 1961, in an effort to diversify the company, Martin's merged with the American Marietta Co. ( a large sand & gravel Mining Co.) creating the Martin-Marietta Co. In 1995, as a result of dwindling military contracts Martin-Marietta merged with the Lockheed Aircraft Corp. creating Lockheed-Martin. This move improved their standing to be awarded contracts. Martin's also received a contract in 1969 that many people fail to remember and which seems strange for a company known for producing military aircraft. Martin's Orlando division constructed the Mark IV Monorail System at Walt Disney World in Florida.

Glenn L. Martin continued to run the company until his death in 1955. He was a tall impeccably well dressed man who never drank, never smoked, and never got married. He left a legacy that is second to none and can be seen today with all the streets, schools, buildings and communities in the area that bear either his name or the name of something related to him or his company. These include Glenmar Elementary, Mars Estates Elementary, Mars Supermarkets, Aero Acres, Victory Villa and Martin Boulevard.

Next week we will look at an "unspeakable industry" that was once popular in eastern Baltimore County. See if you can guess what it is before the column comes out! As always if you have any questions, comments or ideas, please contact me at Lkeithroberts@gmail.com