Mayfield, William Preston, 1896-1974

William Preston Mayfield, the first person to ever create an aerial photograph from a heavier-than-air flying machine, was born in Lexington, Kentucky in 1896. At the age of fourteen he was a photographer for the Dayton Daily News. It was at this time that his love for photography first blossomed.

On a cold day in 1910 Mayfield was invited to go up with Orville Wright in the Wright flyer. While in the air Mayfield leaned out over the wing and took a photograph of the ground below. This photograph would become the first photograph ever to be taken from an aircraft. From this point on Mayfield would make a name for himself photographing early aviation "firsts" including the first historic flight of the helicopter, as well as one of the earliest fatal aircraft crashes.

Over the next sixty years Mayfield's photography would be in demand from air shows to the creation of photographs for newsreels and films. He photographed the rich and the famous of the time including (but not limited to) President Woodrow Wilson, Babe Ruth, and Henry Ford (these photographs are not part of the collection). In addition to these accomplishments Mayfield continued to be in demand as a commercial photographer, which accounts for the many photographs of Dayton area businesses and homes. Later in life he found a passion for high aerial shots as demonstrated by the wealth of aerials depicting the state capital and the Miami Valley.

William Preston Mayfield died at the age of 77 on January 17, 1974.

From the guide to the William Preston Mayfield Photograph Collection - Egbert Donation, 1910-1960, (Wright State University, Special Collections and Archives)