CLASSIC: Lawsonomy: How the Father of the Modern Airline Started His Own Religion

Ridiculous History

iHeartPodcasts

History, Society & Culture

4.3 • 4.4K Ratings

🗓️ 10 May 2025

⏱️ 65 minutes

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Summary

When middling baseball player Alfred Lawson first learned of the Wright Brothers, he experienced a revelation that would guide the greater part of his life: Aviation, he believed, was the future of more than just transit -- it would become one of the most important advances in the history of the human race. Lawson, brimming with confidence and charisma, led the charge to popularize aviation, publishing magazines and even designing the first modern airliner. After the Great Depression dashed many of America's budding businesses, Lawson shifted focus to economic theory and, eventually, he discovered his own religion.

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0:00.0	We return fellow ridiculous historians with a classic episode for this week, and this is one for all the baseball fans in the crowd.
0:11.1	Looking at our super producer, Mr. Max Williams.
0:15.3	Noel, what do we know about Alfred Lawson?
0:17.2	Well, he was the father of the modern airline of modern flight, as we know it,
0:24.4	at least in a commercial sense. While he had nothing to do with the invention of it, he was
0:28.8	early to the game in terms of his awareness of the Wright brothers, which gave him one of those
0:34.2	quintessential light bulb over the head animation moments.
0:37.5	Yeah, and the reason we're saying this is good for the baseball heads in the,
0:44.2	not body shaming, but fans of baseball in the audience, is that Alfred Lawson starts out as sort
0:50.1	of a middle of the road baseball player. And as you said, he gets this light bulb moment when he realizes that aviation may be the next big thing.
1:04.2	And so he leads the charge to popularize this in the zeitgeist of the day.
1:11.5	We're talking publishing trade magazines, getting ads out to the public, even designing
1:17.7	the first modern airline.
1:20.6	Oh, but he did more than that, Ben.
1:22.7	He was a bit of a renaissance man and pivoted to economic theory after revolutionizing.
1:28.7	Yes, yes, after revolutionizing the world of travel.
1:32.5	And eventually took those theories and fashioned them into something of a religion.
1:37.9	Yes, his own religion.
1:39.9	This is the story of Lossotomy.
1:42.8	Get it because his last name is Lawson.
1:44.8	Clever.
1:46.3	You're listening to an I-Heart podcast.
	...

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