Lawrence Sperry Lawrence Sperry Lawrence Burst Sperry (21 December 1892, Chicago, Illinois, United States – December 13, 1923, English Channel) was an aviation pioneer. He was the third son of the gyrocompass co-inventor, Elmer Ambrose Sperry and his wife Zula. Sperry invented the first autopilot, which he demonstrated with startling success in France in 1914. Sperry is also credited with developing the artificial horizon still used on most aircraft in the early 21st century. On 13 December 1923 Sperry took off amid fog in a Verville-Sperry M-1 Messenger from the United Kingdom headed for France but never reached his destination. His body
Murder of Philip Lawrence Murder of Philip Lawrence Philip Ambrose Lawrence, QGM (21 August 1947 — 8 December 1995) was a school headmaster who was stabbed to death outside the gates of his school in London, England, when he went to the aid of a pupil who was being attacked by a gang. Lawrence was born in Dublin, Ireland, the son of a retired Indian Army colonel, and brought up in County Wicklow. He attended Ampleforth College and won an exhibition to read English at Queens' College, Cambridge, being awarded his BA in 1969 and his MA in 1970. In the 1970s, he taught