Aviation pioneers are people directly and indirectly responsible for the advancement of flight, including people who worked to achieve manned flight before the invention of aircraft, as well as others who achieved significant "firsts" in aviation after heavier-than-air flight became routine. Pioneers of aviation have contributed to the development of aeronautics in one or more ways: through science and theory, theoretical or applied design, by constructing models or experimental prototypes, the mass production of aircraft for commercial and government request, achievements in flight, and providing financial resources and publicity to expand the field of aviation.
The table is organized by pioneer name in alphabetical order. Columns for Name, Date of birth/Date of death, Country and Achievement can be sorted in either ascending or descending order. If two pioneers are paired together, sorting by DOB or Country uses the information for the first of the pair. The Achievement column will sort according to the date of the pioneer's earliest significant contribution to aviation.
The list is of outright records, irrespective of race, nationality or gender, and in which at least one of the following criteria is met:
† indicates died in an air accident
| Name | Date of birth Date of death | Country birth (work) | Pioneer | Type | Achievements |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Feb 1841 5 Mar 1925 | France | Science Design Construction Manufacture Aviator | Propeller | First brief uncontrolled powered flight (“hop”) for 50 m (160 ft), 20 cm (8 in) from the ground in steam-powered Éole (9 Oct 1890),[1] [2] designed, constructed and tested Ader Avion II (1893) and Ader Avion III (14 Oct 1897).[3] [4] | |
| † | 24 Jul 1897 7 Jul 1937 | United States | Aviator Support | Propeller | First female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean and set many other records; she was one of the first aviators to promote commercial air travel, wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences, and was instrumental in the formation of The Ninety-Nines, an organization for female pilots. Disappeared during a flight on a Lockheed Electra 10E from Lae Airfield to Howland Island. |
| 1757 1799 | Spain | Science Design Construction | Glider | Reportedly glided c. 400 m distance at c. 5 m height using his own invention (15 May 1793).[5] [6] | |
| † and Arthur Brown | 5 Nov 1892 18 Dec 1919 and 23 Jul 1886 4 Oct 1948 | England (Great Britain) Scotland (Great Britain) | Aviator | Propeller | First non-stop transatlantic flight in a modified Vickers Vimy (14/15 June 1919);[7] (†) Vickers Viking, Rouen, France, en route to Paris. |
Juan Pablo and Eduardo | 14 Sep 1893 4 Oct 1962 and 27 Oct 1894 10 Nov 1968 | Mexico | Science Design Construction | Glider Propeller | First Mexican aviators to graduate from the Moissant School; Juan Pablo was the first to fly over the Statue of Liberty (12 Mar 1913). They also helped contribute to improve aerodynamics by designing a "thick wing" long before other inventors. |
| † | unk c. 1005 | Kazakhstan | Design Construction Aviator | Pre-history Glider | (†) attempted flight from the roof of the Nishapur Mosque in Khorosan (c. 1005).[8] |
| 2 Jan 1882 7 Aug 1948 | Canada | Design Construction Manufacture Aviator | Propeller | Chief Engineer, Aerial Experiment Association (1907–09);[9] first powered flight by a Canadian in the Red Wing (12 Mar 1909);[10] [11] co-designer Red Wing (1908), White Wing (1908), and Silver Dart (1909);[12] with J.A.D. McCurdy (and financial support from Alexander Graham Bell) formed the Canadian Aerodrome Company (1909), Canada's first aircraft manufacturing company.[13] | |
| 1895 1927 | Spain | Aviator | Breguet XIX | First raid between Spain and Philippines (5 May 1926).[14] | |
| 21 Sep 1895 9 Dec 1936 | Spain | Aviator and aeronautical engineer | Autogyro or gyrocopter | Invented the autogyro, the predecessor of the modern helicopter (9 Jan 1923).[15] [16] De la Cierva's flapping hinge overcame the problems of early rotor-winged flight, and is the basis of the modern helicopter rotor. | |
| 3 Mar 1847 2 Aug 1922 | Scotland (United States) (Canada) | Science Design Construction Support | Glider Propeller | Founder and chair, Canadian-American aeronautical research group Aerial Experiment Association (AEA) (30 Sep 1907 – 31 Mar 1909); in 1908 and 1909, the AEA designed, constructed, and flew four powered aircraft: the Red Wing, White Wing, June Bug, and Silver Dart; technical innovations include the tricycle landing gear[17] and the wingtip aileron. | |
| 25 Nov 1857 3 Jan 1923 | United States (United States) (Canada) | Support | n/a | Financial sponsorship, Aerial Experiment Association (1907–09).[18] | |
| 19 Mar 1886 26 Dec 1960 | Italy (Italy) (United States) | Design Construction Manufacture | Propeller | Bellanca Flying School (1912–16); designed first enclosed monoplane cabin (1917); founded Bellanca Aircraft Company (1927).[19] | |
| † | 12 Jul 1891 7 Jul 1919 | Switzerland | Aviator Support | Propeller | First crossing of the Pyrenees (24 Jan 1913); Swiss airmail flight (9 Mar 1913); first crossing of the Alps (13 May 1913);[20] (†) Nieuport 21, Dübendorf, Switzerland. |
| Bladud | 9th Century BC | unk | Design Construction Aviator | Pre-history Glider | According to Historia Regum Britanniae (written c. 1138 by Geoffrey of Monmouth), Bladud, a legendary King of Britain, made wings from feathers and attempted a flight (852 BC).[21] [22] |
| 1 Jul 1872 1 Aug 1936 | France | Design Construction Manufacture Aviator | Propeller | First airplane (Blériot VII) with a modern layout : monoplane, conventional tail, fully covered fuselage, front propeller / enclosed engine (1907).[23] [24] First to use a combination of hand/arm-operated joystick and foot-operated rudder control.[25] First heavier-than-air crossing of the English Channel in a Blériot XI (25 Jul 1909).[26] First actual industrial aircraft manufacturer - By the end of September 1909, orders had been received for 103 Blériot type XI.[27] Just two years later 500 Blériots has been sold.[28] | |
| 29 Mar 1888 9 Jan 1963 | Italy (United States) | Science Design Construction Manufacture | Propeller Rotor | Founder, American Aeronautical Corporation (1928); designer, Budd BB-1 Pioneer (1931), the first stainless-steel airplane;[29] co-designer of the Pedaliante ("Pedal Glider") (1936), the first human-powered aircraft;[30] [31] subsequent improvements (combined with a catapult-assisted launch) led to a 1 km (0.62 mi) flight 9 m (29.5 ft) from the ground (18 Mar 1937).[32] | |
| 4 Oct 1894 15 Nov 1948 | England United States Japan | Aviator | Propeller | First flight from Newfoundland to New York (1919);[33] organised the Japanese Naval Air Arm (1921-1924);[34] first Air Superintendent of Imperial Airways (1924);[35] | |
| 9 Apr 1887 3 Jun 1951 | Argentina | Design Construction Aviator | Balloon | First crossing of the Andes in a (coal gas-filled) balloon (24 Jun 1916);[36] set numerous ballooning records: duration (28 hours 10 minutes); distance 900 km (559 mi). | |
| † | 18 Feb 1892 18 Aug 1916 | France | Aviator | Propeller | Finished first (but did not win) the Geisler Challenge Trophy (1913); long distance champion ;[37] (†), Vadelaincourt, France (shot down). |
| † | 23 May 1881 15 Nov 1924 | Portugal | Aviator | Propeller | Director, Naval Aviation Services (1918); first aerial crossing of the South Atlantic with Gago Coutinho using a Fairey III-D[38] (30 Mar – 17 Jun 1922); († disappeared), English Channel crossing. |
| 27 Dec 1773 15 Dec 1857 | England | Science Design Construction | Glider Propeller Rotor | Experimented in aeronautics at age 13 with a Chinese top (1796); first design of a fixed-wing aircraft (1799);[39] used a whirling arm to test aerofoils at varying angles (1804); presented a paper outlining specific design parameters for building a glider (1810); designed, constructed, and had flown (short hop) a tri-plane (1849). Cayley was one of the most significant pioneers in aviation history. | |
| † | 25 Jan 1889 28 Mar 1911 | Italy (Italy) (France) | Aviator | Propeller | Flew around the Eiffel tower (19 Mar 1911);[40] (†) (Bleriot airplane), near Puteaux, France. |
| 1609 1640 | Turkey | Design Construction Aviator | Glider | Reportedly achieved sustained unpowered flight for 3.36 km (2 mi) (c. 1638).[41] | |
| 17th century | Turkey | Design Construction Aviator | Rocket | Reported to have achieved flight (20 seconds to an elevation of roughly 300 meters) using a winged rocket powered by gunpowder (c. 1630s). | |
| 7 Jun 1886 25 Nov 1972 | Romania (France) (Great Britain) (Romania) | Science Design Construction | Glider Propeller Jet | Designed Coandă-1910 with a propeller-less aero-reactive engine, exhibited Paris Air Show (Oct 1910),[42] [43] followed by a claimed but generally discounted first flight (16 Dec 1910);[44] before WWI designed the Bristol-Coanda Monoplanes in Great Britain; discovered Coandă effect (1930).[45] | |
| † | 6 Mar 1867 7 Aug 1913 | United States (United States) (Great Britain) | Design Construction Aviator | Glider Propeller | Developed and flew human-lifting kites; kite instructor for the Royal Engineers (1904); contributed to the development of the British Army Dirigible No 1 Nulli Secundus (1907);[46] first flight of a piloted airplane in Great Britain (16 Oct 1908, 1,390 ft);[47] [48] issued Royal Aero Club certificate No.10 (14 Jun 1910); (†) Cody Floatplane, with passenger William Evans, Aldershot, England. |
| 4 Jun 1895 1 Nov 1965 | Switzerland | Design Manufacture | Propeller | Swiss pilot's license (1908); partner and chief pilot Ad Astra Aero (1920); designed and built aircraft (1923–35);[49] established an aviation school (1946–50).[50] | |
| 17 Feb 1869 18 Feb 1959 | Portugal | Aviator | Propeller | First aerial crossing of the South Atlantic using a Fairey III-D[51] with Artur de Sacadura Cabral (30 Mar – 17 Jun 1922); developed a sextant-type instrument to create an artificial horizon.[52] | |
| 21 May 1878 23 Jul 1930 | United States (United States) (Canada) | Design Construction Manufacture Aviator | Propeller Rotor | Director of Experiments, Aerial Experiment Association (1907–09); designed the June Bug (1908) and won the Scientific American Trophy (4 Jul 1908) by making the first official one-kilometer flight in North America;[53] co-designer Red Wing (1908), White Wing (1908), and Silver Dart (1909); founded his own company (1909) which became the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company (1916); designed, built, and flew the first successful flying-boat (12 Jan 1912);[54] established Canada's first aviation training school in Toronto (1915);[55] awarded the Langley Gold Medal (1913).[56] | |
| 1844 | France (India) | Design Construction Aviator | Propeller | First reported flight in Asia (Madras, India) (10 Mar 1910)[57] in a self-constructed biplane.[58] | |
| 18 Jul 1823 4 Nov 1890 | France | Science(?) Design Construction Aviator | Propeller | With his brother, built a monoplane which (accelerating down a slope) “staggered briefly into the air” (1874), considered by some to be the powered take-off[59] or hop of a powered fixed-wing aircraft.[60] [61] | |
| Bertram Dickson | 21 Dec 1873 28 Sep 1913 | United Kingdom | Aviator | Propeller | First British serviceman to fly [1910]; gained Aero-Club de France license no. 81 on 12 April.[62] Dickson took part in the Lanark flying meet in August 1910, where he won the £400 prize for the greatest aggregate distance flown.;[63] died 1913 of injuries from 1910 midair collision |
and Henri Dufaux | 13 Jan 1883 17 Jul 1941 and 18 Sep 1879 25 Dec 1980 | Switzerland | Design Construction Aviator | Propeller Rotor | Working together patented a design for a helicopter (1904), constructed and demonstrated a working model (13–17 Apr 1905);[64] [65] designed and built the first Swiss airplanes,[66] including the biplane Dufaux 4 and Dufaux 5; Armand set a new over-water distance record of 66 km (41 mi) crossing Lake Geneva (28 Aug 1910).[67] |
| 1875 24 Aug 1949 | Ireland | Science Design Construction Aviator | Glider(?) Propeller | Discussed aeronautics and aviation with H.G. Wells (c. 1901);[68] member Royal Engineers, working on design and construction of the first British military airplane (1906–08); in secret military trials, and with a career goal of improving stability during flight,[69] Dunne's aircraft flew approximately 40 meters (1908); development of his V-shaped swept wing design significantly advanced flight stability. | |
| Eilmer of Malmesbury | c. 984 unk | unk | Design Construction Aviator | Pre-history Glider | Reportedly flew 200 meters from a tower using rigid wings (c. 1005). |
| † | 21 Oct 1886 19 Oct 1911 | United States | Aviator | Propeller | First airplane (Curtiss Model D) take-off from a ship (USS Birmingham (14 Nov 1910);[70] first landing (Curtiss Model D) on a ship (USS Pennsylvania) using a tailhook (18 Jan 1911); (†), Macon, Georgia, flight exhibition. |
| 20 Nov 1868 1 Jul 1957 | Germany | Design Manufacture Aviator | Propeller | Built Voisin Freres aircraft (1908); first German pilot's license (1909);[71] German flight duration record (3hr 6min 18sec) (1910).[72] | |
| 27 Jul 1892 14 May 1919 | Switzerland | Construction Aviator Support | Propeller | Constructed and piloted the first aircraft in Switzerland (10 May 1910);[73] first Swiss pilot's license (10 Oct 1910). | |
| 26 May 1874 17 Jul 1958 | Design Construction Manufacture Aviator | Propeller | Winner (in the Voisin-Farman No.1) of the Deutsch-Archdeacon Prize (13 Jan 1908); with brothers Richard and Maurice founded Farman Aviation Works (1908). | ||
| † | 8 Feb 1862 22 Sep 1909 | France | Design Construction Aviator Support | Glider Propeller | Attempted (unsuccessfully) to replicate the Wright 1901 Glider from photographs; designed a series of aircraft (Ferber I through Ferber IX) for the Antoinette Company; designed, constructed, and flew the first tractor configuration biplane (May 1905);[74] (†) Voisin biplane, Boulogne, France.[75] |
| 6 Apr 1890 23 Dec 1939 | Dutch East Indies (Germany) (Netherlands) (United States) | Design Construction Manufacture Aviator(?) | Propeller | Designed, built, and flew the "Spin" (31 Aug 1911);[76] involved with the Luftstreitkräfte during WWI; constructed a machine gun synchronizer (22 Apr 1915),[77] leading to an aviation period known as the Fokker Scourge; founded the US-based Atlantic Aircraft Corporation (1924) to manufacture his product in the United States. | |
| † | 1 April 1892 26 Jan 1947 | Netherlands | Aviator | Propeller | First Dutch licensed airline transport pilot (1921);[78] awarded the 1926 Harmon National Trophy for the Netherlands;[79] captain of the first intercontinental charter flight (1927).[80] Died in the 1947 KLM Douglas DC-3 Copenhagen disaster. |
| 11 Jun 1874 18 Feb 1951 | United States | Design Construction | Propeller | (Based largely on self-report and a 1936 interview) Tethered glider flight (1893);[81] free glider flight (1894); (claimed in 1927) controlled steam-powered aircraft flight (15 May 1902); all records, papers, and aircraft were destroyed in a fire;[82] opened first commercial airfield (15 Mar 1907).[83] | |
| 20 Jan 1888 8 Jan 1980 | Norway (Norway) (Great Britain) | Aviator | Propeller | First flight across the North Sea (30 Jul 1914),[84] four hours ten minutes from Cruden Bay, Scotland to Klep (near Stavanger), Norway in a Blériot monoplane. | |
| 12 Nov 1884 14 Apr 1963 | Switzerland | Design Construction Aviator | Propeller | Designed and built aircraft for Ernest Failloubaz and his record-setting flight (1910);[85] first snow takeoff and landing using skis (2 Feb 1912);[86] first water takeoff in a Swiss seaplane (4 Aug 1912).[87] | |
| c. 1701 | Italy | Design Construction | Glider | Italian monk reported to have flown from Calais to London in a bird-shaped airship with a 22-foot wingspan (Oct 1751).[88] [89] | |
| Lawrence Hargrave | 29 Jan 18506 July 1915 | United Kingdom(Australia) | ScienceDesignConstructionAviator | Glider | Invented the Box Kite (1893), greatly improving lift to drag ratio. Reached lift of 16 feet under a train of four of his box kites (1894). Invented a rotary engine (1889), which was much used in early aviation. |
| 3 Aug 1867 17 Jul 1926 | United States | Design Construction | Glider Propeller | Assisted S.P. Langley (May – Nov 1895);[90] test pilot for Octave Chanute;[91] designed the Herring regulator; designed and constructed a compressed-air motorized biplane and reported a 15-meter hop (10 Oct 1898) and a 22-meter hop (12 Oct 1898);[92] business partners with Glenn Curtiss (1909). | |
| 24 Dec 1905 5 Apr 1976 | United States | Design Manufacture Aviator Support | Propeller | Founded Hughes Aircraft (1932); set record for flying around the world (91 hours) in a Lockheed Super Electra (1938); received the Congressional Gold Medal (1939) for achievements in aviation; majority stockholder in TWA (1939). | |
| 6 Jan 1895 16 Jul 1969 | Turkey | Design Construction Aviator | Propeller | Constructed and flew (15 minutes) the first airplane in Turkey (Vecihi K-VI) (28 Jan 1925);[93] founded Turkey's first flying school (27 Sep 1932). | |
| 810 887 | Spain | Design Construction Aviator | Pre-history Glider | A 9th-century polymath covered himself with feathers and wings, and “flew faster than the phoenix in his flight when he dressed his body in the feathers of a vulture” (c. 875). | |
| 3 Feb 1873 8 Dec 1933 | Germany | Design Construction Aviator | Propeller | Made an “aerial leap” (18 meters) in a powered airplane (18 Aug 1903);[94] | |
| 3 Feb 1859 3 Feb 1935 | Germany | Science Design Construction Manufacture | Propeller | Engineer, thermodynamicist, pioneer developer of practical all-metal airframe structures, first used in the 1915-16 Junkers J 1, using all-cantilever structural concepts meant to place all strength-bearing components within an airframe's outer envelope and established all-metal aircraft manufacturing techniques later used by American designer William Bushnell Stout and Soviet designer Andrei Tupolev after World War I.[95] | |
| 29 Jul 1836 24 Feb 1913 | Russia (Austria) | Science Design Construction Aviator | Glider Propeller | Developed a successful rubber-band powered model of a hang glider (1877);[96] designed aircraft control stick (1900); executed short hops over water in his Drachenflieger (1901). | |
| 1631 1687 | Italy | Science Design | Pre-history Balloon(?) | Designed an airship based on the theory of using evacuated metal spheres to create a lighter-than-air vehicle (1670). | |
| 22 Aug 1834 27 Feb 1906 | United States | Science Design Construction | Propeller | Designed and developed the Aerodrome No. 5 as a successful steam engine powered model which flew for 90 seconds covering roughly 3,300 ft (6 May 1896);[97] conversion into a larger piloted aircraft was unsuccessful (1903).[98] | |
| 4 Feb 1883 1 Oct 1974 | United States | Science Support | n/a | United States diplomat, head of State Department's early aviation committees; aviation specialist during Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman administrations. Also Chairman of United States Section at the International Technical Committee of Aerial Legal Experts. | |
| † | 23 May 1848 10 Aug 1896 | Germany | Science Design Construction Manufacture Aviator | Glider | Designed and constructed a monoplane Derwitzer Glider (1891);[99] after nearly 2,000 flights he constructed a two-surfaced glider (1895);[100] (†) Glider crash (9 Aug 1896), Gollenberg, Germany.[101] |
| 4 Feb 1902 26 Aug 1974 | United States | Aviator Support | Propeller | First solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean from New York to Paris in the Spirit of St. Louis (20/21 May 1927). | |
| 26 Jul 1904 7 Sep 1981 | United States | Science Design Support | n/a | Inventor of the Link Trainer flight simulator (1929);[102] received Royal Aeronautical Society Wakefield Gold Medal (1947).[103] | |
| 19 Nov 1711 15 Apr 1765 | Russian Empire | Science Design Construction | Rotor | Designed and constructed a model of a coaxial propeller helicopter (Jul 1754)[104] to lift meteorological instruments.[105] | |
| 18 Jan 1882 19 Nov 1950 | United States | Aviator Design Manufacture | Propeller | Early pilot (1911) and barnstormer. Designed and manufactured numerous airplane models including the Longren AK with the first semi-monocoque body.[106] | |
| † | 15 Feb 1875 20 Dec 1915 | United States | Aviator | Propeller | Began flying at age 52 (1912); Curtiss Exhibition Flyers (1913–15);[107] winner, Round-Manhattan Race (13 Oct 1913); (†) critically injured (6 Sep 1915) in Sturgeon Falls, ON, Canada. |
| † | 1879 18 July 1906 | United States | Aviator | Glider | American pioneering aviator and test pilot who made the first high-altitude flights by man using Montgomery gliders in 1905.[108] (†) Glider, Santa Clara, California. |
| 5 Feb 1840 24 Nov 1916 | United States (United Kingdom) | Science Design Construction | Rotor Propeller | Patented a design for a steam-powered “flying machine” (1889, and refined in 1891);[109] successful track-tethered test of a steam-engine powered biplane (Jul 1894);[110] designed and constructed a biplane that never flew (1910)[111] | |
| 2 Aug 1886 25 Jun 1961 | Canada | Design Construction Manufacture Aviator | Glider Propeller | Treasurer & Assistant Engineer, Aerial Experiment Association (1907–09); first controlled powered flight in Canada "Silver Dart" (23 Feb 1909); with "Casey" Baldwin (and financial support from Alexander Graham Bell) formed the Canadian Aerodrome Company, Canada's first aircraft manufacturing company. | |
| 2 Apr 1894 9 May 1937 | Switzerland | Science Aviator Support(?) | Propeller | Director and head pilot of Ad Astra Aero, later becoming Swissair;[112] first north-south crossing of Africa (7 Dec 1926 – 21 Feb 1927); pioneer of aerial photography (Spitsbergen, 1923; Mount Kilimanjaro, 1929); personally flew/delivered a Fokker to Emperor Haile Selassie I (1934).[113] | |
| † | 15 Feb 1858 31 Oct 1911 | United States | Science Design Construction Aviator | Glider | Designed and constructed a series of early gliders, first to achieve unpowered controlled flight in the United States (1884). Designed tandem-wing gliders flown from high-altitude balloon launches (1904–1905), including first public flight exhibition in United States (29 April 1905). Developed pitcheron systems for control (first developed and applied in 1886, re-applied in 1911);[114] (†) Glider, Evergreen, California. |
| † | 8 Jun 1886 29 Apr 1920 | England | Design Construction Aviator | Propeller | Designed, constructed, and flew a monoplane ("Moonbeam") (early to mid-1910);[115] the meadows of North Stoneham Farm which he used to take-off and land[116] would later become Southampton Airport; (†) Flying boat, Felixstowe, England. |
| 8 Feb 1884 17 May 1964 | England | Aviator | Propeller | Holder of Royal Aero Club certificate No. 1.[117] First United Kingdom citizen to make a flight in Britain.[118] | |
| 21 Mar 1825 1 Apr 1890 | Finland | Science Design Construction | Glider Propeller | Designed and constructed a steam-engine powered airplane that reportedly flew (hopped) (20–30 meters) with the assistance of a ramp (1884).[119] [120] [121] | |
| 28 Oct 1895 29 Mar 1958 | United States | Aviator | Propeller | First non-stop trans-Pacific flight (5 Oct 1931).[122] | |
| 14 May 1891 1969 | Great Britain | Flight trainer Aviator | Glider Propeller | Founded the South Coast Flying club. Trained British pilots during world War I and World War II. | |
| 3 Dec 1877 29 Jul 1953 | New Zealand | Design Construction Aviator | Propeller | Reportedly achieved powered (but poorly controlled) flight (31 Mar 1903).[123] [124] | |
| 1845 1924 | England | Science Design Construction | Glider Propeller | Aeronautic theory: advancement of wind-tunnel design (1880s),[125] development of aerofoil design,[126] patented as “blades for deflecting air” (1884[127] and 1891);[128] designed multiplanes with multiple sets of lifting surfaces, patented (1890),[129] constructed (1893);[130] first powered “hop-flight” (500 ft) in Great Britain (1907). | |
| † | 16 Jan 1866 1 Oct 1899 | England | Science Design Construction Aviator | Glider | Designed and constructed hang-glider (The Bat), first to achieve unpowered controlled flight in Great Britain (12 Sep 1895);[131] (†) crash-related injuries suffered on 30 Sep 1899, glider (The Hawk), near Stanford Hall, England.[132] |
| 26 Feb 1884 22 Oct 1919 | Ireland (Ireland) (Great Britain) | Design Construction Manufacture Aviator | Propeller | Aero Club de France aviator certificate (28 Jul 1911); test pilot (1913–14); began to design and construct (with Glen Curtiss) an aircraft capable of transatlantic flight (1914);[133] testing was successful, but the flight was cancelled due to the outbreak of World War I.[134] Royal Naval Air Service, Squadron Commander, RAF Hendon (1914); secret U.S. visit as an official envoy testing aircraft for the British Government (Sep 1915).[135] Commander, Royal Naval Airstation Felixstowe, conducted flying-boat research; designed and constructed the Porte Baby (1916). | |
| 25 Dec 1873 4 Oct 1952 | United States | Flying Supporting | Propeller | Original founder of Aero Club of America which later became the National Aeronautic Association.[136] Thirteenth man to fly solo, in 1908.[137] Served as aid to Glenn Curtiss and co-authored The Curtiss Aviation Book published in 1912.[138] Participated in Aerial Experiment Association.[139] Served as official timer for Orville Wright’s record setting 57 minute flight at Ft. Myer, Virginia on September 9, 1908.[140] | |
| † | 6 Jun 1886 9 Jan 1911 | Austria-Hungary (Slovenia) (Croatia) | Design Construction Aviator | Propeller | Designed, constructed, and flew the first airplane in Slovenia (25 Nov 1909);[141] (†), Belgrade, Serbia; first Serbian air exposition. |
| 8 July 1883 5 Feb 1931 | United Kingdom | Aviator | Propeller | One of the first four British naval officers to train as a pilot;[142] first to fly an airplane (a Short S.27 biplane) off a moving ship (HMS Hibernia (May 1912).[143] | |
| 20 Jul 1873 23 Jul 1932 | Brazil (France) | Science Design Construction Manufacture Aviator Support | Balloon Airship Propeller | Winner, Deutsch Prize (19 Oct 1901); first powered winged aircraft flight in Europe (13 Sep 1906); winner, Archdeacon Cup (23 Oct 1906) and Aéro-Club de France Prize (12 Nov 1906); designed a light-weight monoplane Demoiselle and released the second variant (No. 20) from copyright or license (late 1909).[144] | |
| 27 Jun 1876 23 Aug 1966 | Austria-Hungary (Serbia) | Design Construction | Propeller Rotor | First public flight in Serbia (then Austro-Hungary) (16 Oct 1910). | |
| † | 8 Feb 1882 17 Sep 1908 | United States (United States) (Canada) | Design Construction Aviator | Airship Propeller | Secretary, Aerial Experiment Association (1907–09); U.S. Army Lieutenant who assisted the AEA in engineering, designing and piloting the Red Wing; first U.S. Military officer to pilot a powered aircraft White Wing (19 May 1908); first fatality of powered flight (17 Sep 1908). |
| 25 May 1889 26 Oct 1972 | Russian Empire (Russia) (United States) | Science Design Construction Manufacture Aviator | Propeller Rotor | Designed and constructed the first four-engine aircraft, the Russky Vityaz cabin biplane, flew (13 May 1913);[145] and the Ilya Muromets, prototype for a commercial airplane (1914); first brief flight in a practical helicopter (14 Sep 1939).[146] | |
| Sir † | 9 Feb 1897 8 Nov 1935 | Australia (Great Britain) (United States) (Australia) | Aviator | Propeller | First transpacific flight from the United States to Australia in the Southern Cross (31 May – 9 Jun 1928);[147] first non-stop Australian transcontinental flight (Aug 1928);[148] first trans-Tasman flight (10/11 Sep 1928); († disappeared) Lady Southern Cross, over the Bay of Bengal.[149] |
| 18 Jan 1888 27 Jan 1989 | England | Design(?) Construction Manufacture Aviator | Propeller | Royal Aero Club license No. 31 (22 Nov 1910); won £4000 Baron de Forest prize for the longest flight from England to the Continent in a British-built aeroplane, (169 miles (272 km) in 3 hours 40 minutes) in a Howard Wright 1910 Biplane (18 Dec 1910); established the Sopwith Aviation Company with Fred Sigrist (1912); and a Sopwith floatplane won the secondSchneider Trophy race 1913). The company produced more than 18,000 aircraft during World War I, including the Sopwith Camel fighter. Post war co-founded Hawker Aircraft.[150] | |
| 2 Jun 1852 16 Jun 1931 | Switzerland (France) (Switzerland) (Denmark) | Science Aviator | Balloon | Licensed by the Académie d'Aérostation météorologique de France as a balloon pilot (1877); Swiss pioneer of ballooning and aerial photography; multiple crossings of the Alps;[151] assisted in medical research (1902). | |
| † | 8 Mar 1879 24 May 1920 | Switzerland | Design Construction Aviator | Propeller | Swiss flight certificate No.2 (10 Oct 1910);[152] pioneer of flying boats (e.g., SIAI S.13); chief seaplane pilot for Ad Astra Aero; first seaplane crossing of the Alps (12 Jul 1919);[153] (†) (Savoia flying boat) demonstration flight, Romanshorn, Switzerland. |
| 1864 1916 | India | Design Construction | ? | Reportedly launched an unmanned airplane (Marutsakhā) (1895) | |
| 17 Jul 1862 24 Feb 1942 | Poland | Science Design Construction Aviator | Glider Rotor Propeller | First successful model glider in Poland (1894);[154] first glider flight in Poland (1896); biplane flight (1911). | |
| 1828 1895 | Russia | Science Design Construction | Propeller | Received patent (with Gustave de Struve) for a steam-engine powered “flying machine” capable of carrying 120 people (i.e., commercial passenger aircraft) (1864),[155] and for a navigable balloon (1883).[156] | |
| 1865 26 Sep 1937 | United States | Designer Construction | Propeller | First female aircraft designer (c. 1906). | |
| 27 Jun 1899 3 Apr 1981 | United States | Manufacture(?) Support | n/a | Founded several airlines including Colonial Air Transport (1926) and the Aviation Corporation of the Americas (1927) which would become Pan American Airways; created economy class to encourage travel; proponent of jet aircraft ordering Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 aircraft; requested a larger airplane resulting in the Boeing 747; recipient, Tony Jannus Award (1965). | |
| 21 Dec 1881 21 Apr 1919 | France | Aviator | Propeller | First pilot to fly at more than 100mph on 2 Feb 1912, won Gordon Bennett Trophy race in 1912 flying a Deperdussin Monocoque.†St Rambert d'Albon near Lyon en route for Rome flying a Caudron C-23.[157] | |
| 16 Nov 1890 10 Mar 1970 | United States | Design Manufacture Support | Propeller | Designed the Verville-Packard R-1 (1919), which won the first Pulitzer Speed Trophy (1920); the M-1 Massenger (1921); the Verville-Sperry R-3 (1922), the second aircraft with retractable landing gear (after the Dayton-Wright RB-1 Racer); member, U.S. Navy Bureau of Aeronautics (1946–61). | |
| † | 19 Nov 1882 13 Sep 1913 | Romania | Design Construction Aviator | Glider Propeller | Designed, built, and flew a glider (1909); a powered airplane Vlaicu Nr. I (17 Jun 1910); (†) Vlaicu Nr. II, near Câmpina, attempting to cross the Carpathian Mountains in flight for the first time.[158] Vlaicu Nr. III, the world's first metal-built aircraft, was under construction at the time of his death, but was completed in early 1914 by his collaborators.[159] |
| 5 Feb 1880 25 Dec 1973 | France | Design Construction Manufacture Aviator | Glider Propeller | With brother Charles, built gliders for Ernest Archdeacon (1902);[160] designed and constructed the first French powered aircraft (Voisin 1907 biplane) to achieve sustained controlled flight (1 Oct 1907); founded Appareils d'Aviation Les Frères Voisin, the first aircraft manufacturing company (1906).[161] | |
| 17 Aug 1872 3 Sep 1950 | Romania (France) | Design Construction Aviator(?) | Propeller Rotor | Flight in tractor monoplane (France) (6 Mar 1906). | |
| † | 17 May 1880 30 Jun 1915 | Scotland | Design Construction Aviator | Glider Propeller | On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ historic flight (1953) and thirty-eight years after Watson's death, his brother James claimed that Preston had achieved powered flight before the Wrights.[162] He recanted in 1955 stating he had never claimed it was powered flight. |
| 1824 1908 | United Kingdom | Science Constructor | Glider | The first scientist to deduce the main properties of cambered aerofoil.[163] Built gliders and with John Browning the world's first wind tunnel in 1871. | |
| 17 Jun 1872 24 Jul 1950 | South Africa | Design Construction Flying Support | n/a | Regarded as "the grandfather of South African aviation”[164] and “South Africa's first aviator”;[165] 1907 to 1909, designed and constructed first aircraft built in South Africa; founder of Aeronautical Society of South Africa (AeSSA); 1911 to 1912, gave numerous flying demonstrations throughout southern Africa to popularise flight.[166] | |
| (Weißkopf) | 1 Jan 1874 10 Oct 1927 | Germany (United States) | Design Construction Aviator | Glider Propeller | Designed and constructed a powered airplane (mid 1901);[167] claims to have made the first (1899),[168] second (14 Aug 1901), and third (17 Jan 1902) controlled powered airplane flights. This claim has long since been in dispute.[169] [170] [171] |
| 1828 10 Jul 1869 | Poland | Design Construction | Glider | Allegedly designed, constructed, flew a controllable glider (1866). | |
Orville and Wilbur | 19 Aug 1871 30 Jan 1948 and 16 Apr 1867 30 May 1912 | United States | Science Design Construction Manufacture Aviator Support | Glider Propeller | Together, designed and constructed biplane kite (1899); invented wing warping for flight control (c. 1899) and the aeronautical concept of three-axis control.[172] designed and constructed the 1900, 1901, and 1902 Gliders; and the powered 1903 Flyer; used data from systematic wind tunnel testing to design efficient air foils and propellers; first powered, controlled, sustained flight (Orville) for 12 seconds covering 37 meters (17 Dec 1903) and documented; (Wilbur) first complete circle in a powered manned airplane (20 Sep 1904); (Wilbur) Wright Flyer III circular flight of 38.9 km (24 m) (23 Jun 1905). |
| 6 Dec 1885 31 May 1982 | Poland (Poland) (United States) | Design Construction Aviator(?) | Propeller | With Stanislaw Cywiński designed and constructed Poland's first airplane (May 1911), flown (25 Sep 1911).[173] | |
