Georges Antoine Chavez (January 13, 1887 – September 27, 1910), also known as Jorge Chávez or Géo Chavez, was a

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

vian

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...

. At a young age, he achieved fame for his aeronautical feats. He died in 1910 after a heavy wind broke the wings of his fragile airplane Bleriot XI, falling from a twenty-meter height upon landing, after achieving the first air crossing of the

Pennine Alps The Pennine Alps (, , , ), sometimes referred to as the Valais Alps (which are just the Northern Swiss part of the Pennine Alps), are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Italy (the Aosta Valley and Piedmont) an ...

Early life

Gerges Chavez was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Peruvian Peruvians (''/peruanas'') are the citizens of Peru. What is now Peru has been inhabited for several millennia by cultures such as the Caral before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. Peruvian population decreased from an estimated 5–9 ...

parents Manuel Chávez Moreyra and María Rosa Dartnell y Guisse. He studied at the Violet School, from which he graduated with an

engineer's degree An engineer's degree is an advanced academic degree in engineering which is conferred in Europe, some countries of Asia and Latin America, North Africa and a few institutions in the United States. The degree may require a thesis but always require ...

in 1908.

Career

Chávez attended the school of aviation established by Henry and

Maurice Farman Maurice Alain Farman (21 March 1877 – 25 February 1964) was a British-French Grand Prix motor racing champion, an aviator, and an aircraft manufacturer and designer. Biography Born in Paris to English parents, he and his brothers Richard an ...

where he got his pilot license and undertook his first flight in

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

on February 28, 1910. Afterwards he participated in several aviation competitions throughout France and other European countries. On August 8 of the same year he took a Blériot

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

where he achieved fame after attaining an altitude of .John Warth
"Adventurers of the Air"
Retrieved on May 30, 2007. He improved his mark by flying at over the city of Issy, France on September 6.

Death

After this successful series, Chávez decided to undertake the first air crossing of the

(but not the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

). This attempt was made in response to a prize of $20,000 offered by the Aero Club of Italy for the first aviator to make the trip alive. After several delays due to bad weather, he took off from Ried-Brig,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

on September 23, 1910, and made his way through the

Simplon Pass The Simplon Pass (; ; ; ; ; ) is a high mountain pass between the Pennine Alps and the Lepontine Alps in Switzerland. It connects Brig, Switzerland, Brig in the canton of Valais with Domodossola in Piedmont (Italy). The pass itself and the villag ...

. Before departing he said, "Whatever happens, I shall be found on the other side of the Alps". Fifty-one minutes later he arrived at his destination, the city of

Domodossola Domodossola (; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, in the region of Piedmont, northern Italy. It was also known as Oscela, Oscella, Oscella dei Leponzi, Ossolo, Ossola Lepontiorum, and Domo d'Ossola (due to it ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, but his plane crashed upon landing. It is believed that the airplane had been damaged previously and inadequately repaired, which caused the aircraft to break under the heavy winds of the mountains.Jorge Basadre, ''Historia de la República del Perú'', vol. VIII, p. 384. Badly injured but conscious, Chávez was taken to San Biaggio Hospital of Domodossola, where he was officially declared winner of the competition and received telegrams from all over the world congratulating him for his achievement. He also received the visit of the president of the Aero Club of Italy and gave one last interview to his friend the journalist Luigi Barzini, telling all the details of his flight. He died four days later of massive

blood loss Bleeding, hemorrhage, haemorrhage or blood loss, is blood escaping from the circulatory system from damaged blood vessels. Bleeding can occur internally, or externally either through a natural opening such as the mouth, nose, ear, urethra, v ...

. His last words were, "Higher. Always higher", according to the testimony of his friend and compatriot aviator Juan Bielovucic.

Legacy

The death of Jorge Chávez caused great commotion in the aviation world. Brig and Domodossola, the start and end points of his last flight, dedicated monuments to the lost aviator. In Peru, Chávez became an icon for aviation-related institutions such as the

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

. His remains were initially buried in France but repatriated to Peru in 1957, where they currently rest at the Officers' School of the Peruvian Air Force at ''Las Palmas''.Jorge Basadre, ''Historia de la República del Perú'', vol. VIII, p. 385. The International Airport of Lima, inaugurated in 1960, is named after him. A life-sized replica of Chávez famous

Blériot XI The Blériot XI is a French aircraft from the Aviation in the pioneer era, pioneer era of aviation. The first example was used by Louis Blériot to make the first flight across the English Channel in a heavier-than-air aircraft, on 25 July 1909. ...

monoplane is still on display at the air terminal. As Chavez spent most of his flying career in France with French-made aeroplanes and was very popular in France at the time, the city of Paris named a street after him in the 20th Borough (20° arrondissement) of Paris. He appears as a character in scenes drawing upon his real-life tragic flight over the Alps in

John Berger John Peter Berger ( ; 5 November 1926 – 2 January 2017) was an English art critic, novelist, painter and poet. His novel '' G.'' won the 1972 Booker Prize, and his essay on art criticism '' Ways of Seeing'', written as an accompaniment to t ...

's novel '' G.'' (1972), awarded the Booker Prize in 1972.

Gallery

Image:ChavezLimaMonument.JPG, Monument to Jorge Chávez in Lima, Perú Image:GeoChavezMemorialBrig.JPG, Memorial to Jorge Chávez in the market square of Brig Image:Domodossola.Monumento_a_Geo_Chavez.JPG, Monument to Jorge Chávez in Domodossola Image:Geo Chavez01.jpg, Monument to Jorge Chávez in Brig File:Model of Jorge Chávez and his aircraft.jpg, Model of Jorge Chávez and his aircraft in the museum of Simplon-Dorf

Notes

Bibliography

* Basadre, Jorge. ''Historia de la República del Perú''. Lima: Editorial Universitaria, 1983. * Museo Aeronáutico del Perú
''Jorge Chávez''
. * Tauro del Pino, Alberto. ''Enciclopedia Ilustrada del Perú''. Lima: Peisa, 2003. *Warth, John

In Whitney, Caspar (Editor). ''Collier’s Aviation Pioneers''. 1911.

External links

Jorge Chavez complete Biography

Biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chávez Dartnell, Jorge 1887 births 1910 deaths Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Italy French people of Peruvian descent Aviators from Paris Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1910 Peruvian aviators