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
The Invention of Art The Invention of Art The Invention of Art: A Cultural History (2001) is an art history book by Dr. Larry Shiner (1934- ), Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, History, and Visual Arts at the University of Illinois, Springfield Shiner spent over a decade to finish the work of this book. The book sees fine art as a modern invention due to social transformations during the 18th century. David Clowney, writing for "Contemporary Aesthetics" summarizes the central thesis of this book. "In The Invention of Art: A Cultural History , Larry Shiner claims that Art with a capital A, Fine Art, was