| Charles L. Hamilton, Jr.
1943 - 1997
"The
wind beneath our wings"
 |
Did
you ever know that you're my hero
You're everything I wish
I could be
I can fly higher than an eagle
For you are the wind beneath my wings.
rom his early years, Charles L. Hamilton, Jr. showed uncommon
inventiveness and curiosity about the universe around him.
He was born October 13, 1943, in Newton, Iowa.
At age 15 he started a radio station in the basement of his parent's
home. He began flying and working
towards his private pilot's license at the same time. Aviation,
space and technology would become the focus of his life. As an adult, Charles founded the Hamilton Technical
College at Davenport, Iowa, which bears his name and is still
in operation over 30 years later. His love of flying would also
lead him to establish two successful ultralight aircraft companies,
which are also located in the Quad City Area. Charles' love of astronomy and the unknown caused
him to build two observatories in the Bettendorf area to study
the wonders of space. If public space travel was possible in his
lifetime, he would have been first in line to depart this planet
despite any and all risks. Charles was a driven, hardworking, inventive man
but his family always knew
he was there for them. He died on March 31st, 1997, and now begins
a new adventure in the depths of space that he loved.
~
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