Alberto Santos-Dumont

Alberto Santos-Dumont, an aeronaut, sportsman, self-taught inventor, gained worldwide prominence through the first steerable balloons with a gasoline engine, a merit that won him the Deutsch Prize in 1901 when he flew around the Eiffel Tower in his airship number 6. On October 23rd, 1906, he flew about sixty meters at a height of two or three meters in the first flight in a device heavier than air, controllable, and with its own propulsion, taking off unassisted by an external launch system before an unexpected crowd. Because the Official Commission of the Aeroclube de France was only partially present, a new test was scheduled for November 12th. At Bagatelle Gamefield in Paris, France, on November 12th, 1906, he repeated the feat aboard the 14-bis, an airplane of his own, before about 1000 people including journalists and the Official Commission of the Aeroclube de France. This flight, made without taking advantage of headwinds, ramps, catapults, slopes, or other devices, was certified by the Aeroclube de France, officially witnessed by an aeronautical registration body, and recognized by the International Aeronautical Federation.

Washington, District of Columbia · United States