Originally Posted by GAU-8

Yes. Well before:

Cutiss biplane--Cut and paste from below web site: On January 18, 1911, in San Francisco bay, Eugene Ely landed on a wooden deck built over the stern of the USS Pennsylvania,. His arresting gear, to shorten the landing, consisted of sand filled sea bags attached to ropes stretched across this deck with the ropes raised from the deck by longitudinal timbers. Hooks to catch the ropes were attached to the plane. This arrangement is surprisingly close to later aircraft carrier arresting gear.

Picture and related story:
First landing on a ship -- Glenn Curtiss Historical Society

Good one Glyn