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. 

Read more

An aviation pioneer, No longer forgotten

If not for Wong Tsu, Boeing might never have become the industry giant we know it as today. And if not for a group of Asian American employees at Boeing, the contributions of Wong Tsu might still be shrouded in secret today.

Read more

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.