Charles Frederick Page, a self-taught engineer born into slavery in Louisiana, designed a sophisticated airship that predated the Wright brothers' patent. While Page’s family maintained he built a full-scale model for the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, the vessel mysteriously disappeared, and Page was subsequently defrauded by patent promoters, preventing his commercial success. Despite the systemic racism that erased his contributions from mainstream history, modern analysis of his original patent drawings confirms the viability of his propulsion and guidance systems. Today, the Black Inventors Hall of Fame is constructing a full-scale replica of his airship to restore his legacy as a pioneering innovator. This investigation, featuring insights from Page’s grandson Joseph P. Page, local historian Michael Wynn, and inventor James Howard, highlights the broader pattern of overlooked Black innovation in American history.
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