Martin, Glenn Luther, 1886–1955, American aviation pioneer, b. Macksburg, Iowa. Martin built his first airplane in 1909, and in 1912 set the world over-water record, flying from mainland California to Catalina Island and back. The same year he founded the Glenn L. Martin Co., which merged (1916) with the Wright brothers' firm to form Wright–Martin Aircraft Co. Leaving the firm in 1917, he founded a new Glenn L. Martin Co., and later moved the firm to Cleveland and then to the Baltimore area. Many famous figures in early aviation, including Donald Douglas, Dutch Kindelberger, and James McDonnell, started with Martin, and his companies produced thousands of planes including bombers used in World Wars I and II. After his death, the Martin company merged with the American Marietta Corp. (1961), becoming Martin Marietta, which later merged with Lockheed Corp. (1995), becoming Lockheed Martin.
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