George Taylor
was born on 1 August 1872 in Sydney. He was a second son of George and Annie.
He learned a trade in building from Sydney Technical College. He first became known as an artist/cartoonist
for various local and international papers. He contributed drawings to The Bulletin,
Worker, Sunday Times, Referee, and London Punch,
but later became interested in aviation and radio. George was a member of the Dawn
and Dusk Club. He married his wife, Florence Mary Parsons in 1907.
Taylor in
his self-constructed glider at Narrabeen in 1909
He was
very interested in technology. He experimented with a motorless aeroplane
(glider) and, in November 1909, constructed one of full size. On 5 December 1909
he became the first person in Australia to fly in a heavier-than-air craft. Same
day Florence Taylor also flew in her husband's glider. In
1910 he founded the Wireless Institute of New South Wales and was elected to
the Royal Geographical Society of London for his military maps and to the Royal
Astronomical Society for his theory of moon-life. George visited Europe to
study broadcasting developments in 1922. He played a major role in framing the
broadcasting regulations for Australia.
An
epileptic seizure in his bath tub drowned him on 20 January 1928. His wife
Florence Mary Taylor was very upset of his sudden death.
In 1929 a
gift of £1100 was made to the University of Sydney by the G. A. Taylor memorial
committee to found a lectureship in aviation or aeronautical engineering in his
memory.
