May
Asian American and Pasifika Heritage Month is a celebration of the accomplishments of Asian Americans and Pacific Island Americans in U.S. society and culture.
In 1978, a joint congressional resolution established Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week. The first 10 days of May were chosen to coincide with two important milestones in Asian/Pacific American history: the arrival in the United States of the first Japanese immigrants (May 7, 1843) and contributions of Chinese workers to the building of the transcontinental railroad, completed May 10, 1869.
In 1992, Congress expanded the observance to a monthlong celebration that is now known as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Wong Tsu - Wong Tsoo
Aviation Pioneer
Sen. Hasegawa said. “As Bill Boeing’s first engineer, he was a pioneer in aviation and a key figure in our state’s history. Mr. Wong’s story helps remind us of the breadth of the contributions early Chinese immigrants made to our local economy and to our country.”
Wong Tsu was born on August 10th, 1893 in Beijing China. He would arrive in Georgetown in the early days of Boeing "becoming the first engineer and the man behind the Model C, the seaplane that was Boeing’s first financial success."
He graduated from MIT with a degree in aeronautical engineering in 1916. He then learned to fly at the Curtiss Flying Boat School in Buffalo, New York. In May 1916, the fledgling Boeing Airplane Company hired Wong as their first trained aeronautical engineer.
During his contribution to Boeing, he resided in Georgetown on Corson Ave S. His home was razed for industrial development but his work and life are commemorated at the Museum of Flight in a permanent exhibit.
Key Donn remembers Wong Tsu
It took Key Donn, president of the Boeing Asian American Professional Association (BAAPA), several years to track down old photographs and documents about Wong’s life.
The exhibit acknowledges Wong Tsu as Boeing’s first engineer and includes old photos, personal documents and a large plaque bearing the engineer’s image.
We also thank Key Donn for his dedication, research and hard work to spread the history of the amazing gentlemen, Wong Tsu.