BENNETT, FLOYD

born Oct. 25, 1890, Warrensburg, N.Y., U.S. died April 25, 1928, Quebec, Can. American pioneer aviator who piloted the explorer Richard E. Byrd on the first successful flight over the North Pole on May 9, 1926. For this feat both Bennett and Byrd received the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor. Floyd Bennett Airport in Brooklyn, N.Y., was named for him in 1931. Bennett attended a mechanics school in his early years, and subsequently managed garages in New York state. Enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1917, he underwent pilot and mechanic training. After his historic polar flight in 1926, Bennett made an 8,000-mile (12,000-kilometre) flight around the United States to prove that long-distance airline operations were feasible.