Elmer and Lawrence Sperry, father and son, were inventors and developers who had a major thrust in the development of aviation. Elmer's interest in electronics and engineering came from his visit to the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. He then worked to improve the dynamics of lighting systems. He formed the Sperry Gyroscope Company in Brooklyn, NY, in 1910, although he experimented with gyroscopes as early as 1890.

His non-magnetic gyrocompass was installed on the battleship Delaware in 1911 and soon became standard equipment in the Navy and on several steamship lines. During his lifetime, Elmer established eight different companies to manufacture and market his inventions. He obtained more than 400 patents. Lawrence successfully adapted his father's work with gyroscopes and gyrostabilizers, particularly for airplanes. He worked with Glenn Curtiss in Europe.

He also developed an automatic pilot and a turn-and-bank indicator to be used on planes that fly at night. Lawrence made the first blind flight at night to show that instrument flying was feasible, practical, and possible. He headed his own aircraft company, developing a small personal-use plane called the Messenger. While demonstrating the plane in a flight across the English Channel, the plane developed problems shortly after takeoff. Lawrence made a perfect landing on the water's surface, but was lost in the fog and icy water as he attempted to swim to shore.