He was born on August 10, 1884, in
San Francisco, California. He married Leonore in 1913. After his first day he crashed in
Alta, California. His cross-country flight was completed February 8, 1912, in
Jacksonville, Florida, after the deadline, and the prize expired without a winner.
Panama Canal After becoming the first person to traverse the United States from the
West Coast to the
East Coast, Fowler became the first person to make a nonstop transcontinental flight by traversing the
Isthmus of Panama in an hour and thirty-five minutes on 27 April 1913. Flying from the Pacific to the Atlantic along the route of the
Panama Canal construction in a single-engine hydroplane, his passenger and cameraman
Ray Duhem filmed parts of the canal during the flight. The following day the men appeared at the United States Commissioner in San Francisco, with Fowler claiming that they had received the permission of the chief engineer of the canal, Colonel
George Washington Goethals before flying: "Col. Goethals not only gave his permission, but he wished us the best of luck, and said he hoped the pictures would turn out well." Their trial was set for that August 10, 1914, but by June 15, 1915, a grand jury had declined to review the case. It was ultimately dropped because evidence was insufficient.
L-W-F The
Lowe, Willard & Fowler Engineering Company, was founded on
Long Island, New York, in December 1915. It was named for founders Edward Lowe Jr., Charles F. Willard, and Robert G. Fowler, and was also considered to be named after the construction it developed, the laminated wood fuselage. "Lowe provided most of the financing, while Fowler attracted Willard. Lowe soon secured total control, renaming the firm L-W-F Engineering, and Fowler and Willard departed in 1916."
Fowler Airplane Corporation In 1918, Robert Fowler established the
Fowler Airplane Corporation, located on Howard Street in San Francisco, to build
Curtiss JN-4Ds for the U.S. Army Signal Corps. It was one of six companies that built the design under license. ==Death==