George III Valentin, Prince Bibescu (; 22 March 1880,

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

– 2 July 1941,

) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

n early aviation pioneer and

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarde ...

enthusiast.

Family

His parents were George Bibescu (son of

Gheorghe Bibescu Gheorghe Bibescu (;April 26th 1804 – 1 June 1873) was a ''hospodar'' (Prince) of Wallachia between 1843 and 1848. His rule coincided with the revolutionary tide that culminated in the 1848 Wallachian revolution. Early political career Born in ...

) and Valentine de Riquet de Caraman, In 1902, he married Marthe Lucie Lahovary, who took the name Marthe Bibesco. They had one daughter, Valentina, born 27 August 1903. In 1912, he gave his wife as a present the

Mogoșoaia Palace Mogoșoaia Palace ( ro, Palatul Mogoșoaia, ) is situated about from Bucharest, Romania. It was built between 1698 and 1702 by Constantin Brâncoveanu in what is called the Romanian Renaissance style or Brâncovenesc style. The palace bears the ...

Automobiles

Bibescu, together with the

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

and

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

Bazil Assan Bazil George Assan (1 August 1860 – 16 June 1918) was a Romanian engineer, explorer and economist. Belonging to a wealthy family in Bucharest, Assan was an important figure in the industrialization of the Kingdom of Romania. He studied enginee ...

and the baron Barbu Bellu, was the first person to bring an automobile to Romania. The first two requested one from the brand FN Herstal. Since Bibescu did not have the time to register it, in 1900, Assan became the first person in the country to receive a

Vehicle registration plate A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate ( Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identific ...

, 1B. However, Bibescu did not want to allow this, so the Capital Prefecture made an exception and gave him in 1901 the plate 0B, making him the owner of the first plate in Romania.

Aviation

Bibescu had an early interest in aviation; he flew a balloon named "Romania" brought from France 1905. Later he tried to teach himself how to fly a

Voisin Voisin (French for "neighbour") may refer to: Companies *Avions Voisin, the French automobile company :*Voisin Laboratoire, a car manufactured by Avions Voisin *Voisin (aircraft), the French aircraft manufacturer * Voisin, a Lyon-based chocolat ...

airplane, also brought from France, but without success. After Louis Blériot's demonstration flights in Bucharest on 18 October 1909 (organized at the invitation of , of which he was president), Bibescu went to France and enrolled in Blériot's school in Pau. On 6 January 1910 he was awarded

Aéro-Club de France The Aéro-Club de France () was founded as the Aéro-Club on 20 October 1898 as a society 'to encourage aerial locomotion' by Ernest Archdeacon, Léon Serpollet, Henri de la Valette, Jules Verne and his wife, André Michelin, Albert de Dion, ...

pilot's license number 20.354 Aero-Club de France Pilot Aviators
''Flight'', 4 February 1911, p.88. After returning from France, Bibescu organized the Cotroceni Piloting School in

where and Nicolae Capșa were licensed. On 5 May 1912, he founded the Romanian National Aeronautic League. He was instrumental in founding the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Between 1927 and 1930, he was vice-president, and between 1930 and 1941 president of the FAI. He was co-founder of the Romanian Automobile Club (1901), and of the

Romanian Olympic Committee The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee ( ro, Comitetul Olimpic și Sportiv Român, COSR) is responsible for Romania's participation in the Olympic Games. History The Romanian Olympic Committee ( ro, Comitetul Olimpic Român) was formed in 1 ...

(1914). Romania was among the first 6 nations in the world to organize car races. In 1904, he won the Bucharest- Giurgiu-Bucharest

auto race Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

, with an average hourly speed of 66 km/h. In 1905, motorists George Valentin Bibescu, Leon Leonida, and Mihai Ferekide, accompanied by Marthe Bibesco, Maria Ferekide, and Claude Anet, made the first automobile trip to

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, leaving from Galați and reaching

Ispahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...

. The trip is described by the French writer Claude Anet in his book, "La Perse en automobile à travers la Russie et le Caucase (Les Roses d'Ispahan)". George Bibescu is buried in the small, white 1688 church on the grounds of Mogoșoaia Palace in Romania

Gallery

File:George-Valentin Bibescu École d'aviation de Pau, 1910 (Agence Meurisse).jpg, Bibescu training at the Pau Flying School (Blériot Aéronautique). File:Bibescu 3rd from left.jpg, Bibescu 3rd from left on the side of a Bleriot XI airplane. File:Stamps of Romania, 2004-025.jpg, Bibescu on a 2004 Romanian stamp

References

External links

"George Valentin Bibescu 1880–1941"
at EarlyAviators *
"George Valentin Bibescu, first Romanian airman"
Aeroclubul României * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bibescu, George 1880 births 1941 deaths Aviation pioneers

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...