Roger Williams with his plane. Roger Williams papers, Box 14, “Roger Q. Williams, ca 1917-1964 and undated.”
A finding aid for the previously unprocessed Roger Q. Williams papers has been created. Williams (1894-1976) was an early aviator and barnstormer of the 20thcentury. He is perhaps best known for his flight with Lewis Yancey from Old Orchard Beach, Maine to Rome, Italy (the flight included a short stop in Santander, Spain for parts).
Williams and Lewis Yancey after their flight to Rome in 1929. Roger Q. Williams papers, Box 14. “Roger Q. Williams, ca. 1917-1964, undated.” American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
It broke the previously held over-water nonstop flight record. He served as a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II and later established his own flight school, the Roger Q. Williams School of Aeronautics. Williams took time to write of his experiences as an aviator in a weekly syndicated column, “Up Currents,” and a book, To the Moon and Halfway Back.
Thea Rasche (triangle sweater) with Francis Harrell (at right), female stunt pilots, 1927. Roger Q. Williams papers, Box 14, “Thea Rasche” folder. American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
The Roger Q. Williams papers document the career of Williams but also contain a wide selection of photographs that are much like a who’s who in aviation from the 1920s to the 1940s. Additionally, historical aviation and geographic photographs collected throughout his career are present in the collection.