Frank H. Ellis,OC (October 13, 1893 – July 4, 1979) was an early Canadian aviator and member of theEarly Birds of Aviation. He was born inNottingham, England, in 1893 and immigrated toCalgary, Alberta with his family in 1912. With Tom Blakely, he constructed and flew abiplane designed after aCurtiss model in 1914.[1] He was the first Canadian to make aparachute jump from an airplane in Canada, July 5, 1919, atCrystal Beach,Fort Erie, Ontario.[2] Beside his day job as bus driver, Ellis wrote extensively on the history of aviation, and was an avid aircraft model builder. He located several historic Canadian aviation artifacts and arranged for their donation to museums. In 1954 he published "Canada's Flying Heritage", the first major study of thehistory of aviation in Canada. In 1972, he was awarded theMedal of Service of theOrder of Canada.[3] He died July 4, 1979, at the age of 85, inNorth Vancouver, BC.[4]
On July 5, 1979, the day just after Ellis died, Bill Cole of Ontario, Canada, performed an exhibition parachute jump into the water of Lake Erie at Crystal Beach to mark the 60th anniversary of Ellis's historical jump. Cole used equipment similar to what Ellis used.[citation needed]
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