Edvard Rusjan (6 June 1886 – 9 January 1911) was a flight pioneer and airplane constructor from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He died in an airplane crash in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

Biography

Rusjan was born in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

, then the major port of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(now in Italy). His parents were both natives of the

Gorizia and Gradisca The Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca (german: Gefürstete Grafschaft Görz und Gradisca; it, Principesca Contea di Gorizia e Gradisca; sl, Poknežena grofija Goriška in Gradiščanska), historically sometimes shortened to and spelled " ...

region: his father, Franc Rusjan, was a Slovene, and his mother, Grazia Cabas, was Friulan. Rusjan spent his childhood and adolescence in

Gorizia Gorizia (; sl, Gorica , colloquially 'old Gorizia' to distinguish it from Nova Gorica; fur, label= Standard Friulian, Gurize, fur, label= Southeastern Friulian, Guriza; vec, label= Bisiacco, Gorisia; german: Görz ; obsolete English ''Gorit ...

, in the suburb of Rafut. In his youth, he became a professional bicyclist, and designed his own bicycle models, together with his brother Josip Rusjan. He was also member of the

Sokol The Sokol movement (, ''falcon'') is an all-age gymnastics organization first founded in Prague in the Czech region of Austria-Hungary in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner. It was based upon the principle of " a strong mind in a so ...

gymnastic association. He made his first flight on 25 November 1909, near Gorizia, in Eda I, a biplane of his own design. Eda was Edvard's nickname, given by his mother. The flight was covered and reached a height of . On 29 November 1909, he flew at an altitude of . The original design was followed by several improved versions. He moved to a hangar near

Miren Miren (; it, Merna) is an urbanized settlement in the Municipality of Miren-Kostanjevica in the Littoral region of Slovenia right next to the border with Italy. The hill known as Miren Castle ( sl, Mirenski grad) rises above the settlement to th ...

south of Gorizia. Rusjan first attended a public flight event with the model EDA V on 6 December 1909, when his aircraft broke apart at landing. In June 1910, he tried the model EDA V, which enabled him to fly 40 meters above the ground and overfly the whole

Field.

The brothers Rusjan ran out of finance for the construction of EDA VII. In 1910 Edvard Rusjan met the businessman of Serbian origin Mihajlo Merćep, who offered him financial help for his endeavors. The same year, the brothers moved to

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

, Croatia, when they started a project of airplane construction on larger scale. In November 1910, they constructed a new model. In January 1911, Edvard and Josip Rusjan went on a promotional tour through the

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

cities. During a flight in

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

on a strong wind broke a wing of Edvard's aeroplane and it dived into a railway embankment near the Belgrade Fortress in a fatal crash. His funeral was attended by a large crowd of about 14,000 people. He is interred at Belgrade's New Cemetery, lot 15, grave 343.

Legacy

The

Maribor Edvard Rusjan Airport Maribor Edvard Rusjan Airport ( sl, Letališče Edvarda Rusjana Maribor) is an international airport in Maribor, Slovenia. The second biggest and second most important Slovenian airport, it is the only other airport besides the airport in Ljublj ...

and asteroid 19633 Rusjan are named after him. The commercial and business center ''Eda Center'' in Nova Gorica is dedicated to Rusjan's memory. One of the DC-10s in the

JAT The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and subse ...

fleet was named after Edvard Rusjan.

References

External links

Edvard Rusjan Biography
* http://www.vazduhoplovnetradicijesrbije.rs/index.php/clancivlepojevica/160-m-mercep-i-e-rusjan {{DEFAULTSORT:Rusjan, Edvard 1886 births 1911 deaths Engineers from Trieste People from Gorizia Aircraft designers Aviation pioneers Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Serbia Aviators from the Austro-Hungarian Empire Ethnic Slovene people Aerodynamicists Aviation inventors Burials at Belgrade New Cemetery Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1911 Inventors from the Austro-Hungarian Empire