author
Clayton Knight
1891–1969
An American aviator turned artist and writer, this early air-age figure brought firsthand experience to stories and illustrations about flight. His career ranged from World War I service to aviation journalism, comic-strip work, and books for young readers.
2 Audiobooks
The non-stop stowaway : The story of a long distance flight
by Clayton Knight
We Were There at the Normandy Invasion
by Clayton Knight
About the author
Born in Rochester, New York, in 1891, Clayton Knight studied art in Chicago before World War I changed the course of his life. He became a pilot with the Royal Flying Corps during the war, and that experience stayed at the center of his work for decades.
Knight became well known as an aviation artist, illustrator, and author. He helped found the Clayton Knight Committee, an organization that assisted Americans who wanted to join the Royal Canadian Air Force before the United States entered World War II. He also illustrated the adventure comic strip Ace Drummond and produced writing and artwork closely tied to airplanes, pilots, and military aviation.
For readers, what makes Knight especially distinctive is the way he joined technical knowledge with a storyteller's eye. His books and illustrations reflect someone who had actually flown, and they capture both the excitement and the danger of early aviation. He died in Danbury, Connecticut, in 1969.