Léon Lemartin
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Théodore Clovis Edmond Lemartin, known as Léon Lemartin (20 October 1883
Dunes, Tarn-et-Garonne Dunes (; oc, Dunas) is a Communes of France, commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region in southern France. Geography The river Auroue forms all ...
– 18 June 1911,
Vincennes Vincennes (, ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is next to but does not include the Château de Vincennes and Bois de Vincennes, which are attached ...
)History of Dunes – Lemartin
/ref> was a pioneer
aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
who set a world record on 3 February 1911 at Pau, France when he carried seven passengers in a Blériot XIII ''Aerobus''. He then took eight, eleven and thirteen passengers aloft the following month.AviaFrance – Profile of the Bleriot XIII
/ref> He is also known as the world's first professional
test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...
. The son of a blacksmith, in 1902 he became a graduate '' Gadz'Art'', an engineer of 'Arts and Crafts' of the
École Nationale Supérieure d'Arts et Métiers École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...
(ENSAM) – a prestigious university (
grande ecole Grande means "large" or "great" in many of the Romance languages. It may also refer to: Places * Grande, Germany, a municipality in Germany *Grande Communications, a telecommunications firm based in Texas *Grande-Rivière (disambiguation) *Arroi ...
) specialising in engineering. His aeronautic career included working with
Gabriel Voisin Gabriel Voisin (5 February 1880 – 25 December 1973) was a French aviation pioneer and the creator of Europe's first manned, engine-powered, heavier-than-air aircraft capable of a sustained (1 km), circular, controlled flight, which was made ...
, the Seguin brothers,
Henri Farman Henri Farman (26 May 1874– 17 July 1958) was a British-French aviator and aircraft designer and manufacturer with his brother Maurice Farman. Before dedicating himself to aviation he gained fame as a sportsman, specifically in cycling and moto ...
,
Ernest Archdeacon Ernest Archdeacon (23 March 1863 â€“ 3 January 1950) was a French lawyer and aviation pioneer before the First World War. He made his first balloon flight at the age of 20. He commissioned a copy of the 1902 Wright No. 3 glider but ha ...
and
Louis Blériot Louis Charles Joseph Blériot ( , also , ; 1 July 1872 – 1 August 1936) was a French aviator, inventor, and engineer. He developed the first practical headlamp for cars and established a profitable business manufacturing them, using much of th ...
. He was present when Blériot made the historic first crossing of the
English channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
in 1909. On 4 October 1910 he was awarded Aviator's Certificate number 249 by the
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, ...
. On 24 May 1911, three weeks before his death, he reportedly surpassed the world speed record although it was never officially recognized. He achieved over the flight between Etampes and
Toury Toury () is a Communes of France, commune in the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in northern France. Toury station has rail connections to Orléans, Étampes and Paris. Population History On 31 October 1908 Louis Blériot succeed ...
in a Blériot using his own enhancements to the
Gnome Omega The Gnome 7 Omega (commonly called the Gnome 50 hp) is a French seven-cylinder, air-cooled aero engine produced by Gnome et Rhône. It was shown at the Paris Aero Salon held in December 1908 and was first flown in 1909. It was the world's ...
motor. He died in a crash on 18 June 1911 during the Paris–London–Paris leg of ''Le Circuit Européen'' (Tour of Europe) air race. He was still within sight of the reportedly 'up to 1 million' spectators at the take-off in
Vincennes Vincennes (, ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is next to but does not include the Château de Vincennes and Bois de Vincennes, which are attached ...
.


Early life

Lemartin was born in the
commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...
of
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in the
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of
Tarn-et-Garonne Tarn-et-Garonne (; oc, Tarn e Garona ) is a department in the Occitania region in Southern France. It is traversed by the rivers Tarn and Garonne, from which it takes its name. The area was originally part of the former provinces of Quercy and ...
in south west France. From the moment of his birth he was known as Léon, but his forenames (Théodore, Clovis, Edmond) honoured both his father and both of his grandfathers. When he graduated in 1902 and required authorisations to work he discovered a mistake on his birth certificate, that his family name of 'Le Martin' had been written 'Lemartin', but he decided that it was easier to adopt the 'new' spelling. His father Edmond was a
blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
and
farrier A farrier is a specialist in equine hoof care, including the trimming and balancing of horses' hooves and the placing of shoes on their hooves, if necessary. A farrier combines some blacksmith's skills (fabricating, adapting, and adjus ...
(Fr. Maréchal-ferrant), and a member of the '
Compagnons du Tour de France The Compagnons du Devoir, full name Compagnons du Devoir et du Tour de France, is a French organization of craftsmen and artisans dating from the Middle Ages. Their traditional, technical education includes taking a tour, the ''Tour de France,'' ar ...
' (a French community of craftsmen and artisans). He was also the inventor of several 'furnaces maréchal', some of which were patented. Edmond believed strongly in both science and technology so Léon spent many hours working in the forge learning practical skills. Once Lemartin achieved his 'school certificate' he was enrolled at the 'Ecole Pratique' d'
Agen The communes of France, commune of Agen (, ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne Departments of France, department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. ...
'. He was a gifted and serious student who advanced quickly so that in October 1899, when he was just sixteen, he left his native Brulhois area and travelled almost to enroll at the 'Institute of Arts et Métiers' in
Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...
where he became a '' Gadz'Art'', the nickname given to the students and alumni of the
École Nationale Supérieure d'Arts et Métiers École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...
(ENSAM), a prestigious university (''
grande ecole Grande means "large" or "great" in many of the Romance languages. It may also refer to: Places * Grande, Germany, a municipality in Germany *Grande Communications, a telecommunications firm based in Texas *Grande-Rivière (disambiguation) *Arroi ...
'') specialising in engineering. At the age of nineteen, in 1902, he became a qualified ''Gadz'Art'', an engineer of 'Arts and Crafts' (''Ingénieur des Arts et Métiers'') and moved to Paris.Patrimoine (Heritage) – Grandes figures of gadzarts – Profiles of alumni – Léon Lemartin by Jean-Louis Eytier with contributions from Jacques Dalmon, the only grandson of Lemartin.
/ref>
/ref> In December 1902 Lemartin met aviation enthusiast Louise Soriano, who had divorced the Comte Charles de Lambert and married Ricardo Soriano von Hermansdorff Sholtz, Marquis de Ivanrey. Lemartin and Louise worked together during their joint airship project and subsequently married, upon which he adopted her daughter Jane (or Jeanne) de Lambert from her first marriage. Louise died in December 1907 and is buried in Dunes. Lemartin then married Madeleine, née Baas, and they had three children: Louise, Simone and Léone. Jane de Lambert also grew up in the family. After his death, Madeleine married his brother Albert and had two more children, Maurice and Roger.


Airship project

Lemartin had an early interest in ballooning and, learning from
Alberto Santos-Dumont Alberto Santos-Dumont (Santos Dumont, Minas Gerais, Palmira, 20 July 1873 — Guarujá, 23 July 1932) was a Brazilian aeronaut, sportsman, inventor, and one of the few people to have contributed significantly to the early development of both l ...
, he began to build an airship in collaboration with the Spanish aristocrat, financier, engineer, inventor and adventurer Ricardo Soriano von Hermansdorff Sholtz. The project failed due to a fire, so Lemartin applied to the 'L'École Duvignau', but without success.


Gnome years

In the early 1900s, Lemartin started work at the automobile manufacturer Charron, based in
Puteaux Puteaux () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located in the heart of the Hauts-de-Seine department, from the centre of Paris. In 2016, it had a population of 44,941. La Défense, Paris's business district hosting the ...
Paris. He later moved to E.N.V., and later worked for
Gabriel Voisin Gabriel Voisin (5 February 1880 – 25 December 1973) was a French aviation pioneer and the creator of Europe's first manned, engine-powered, heavier-than-air aircraft capable of a sustained (1 km), circular, controlled flight, which was made ...
on the structure of his early experimental glider which was towed into the air from the river Seine, flying , in 1905. Lemartin was apparently not convinced by the Voisin approach and agreed with
Louis Bleriot Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...
that the engine was key to achieving powered heavier-than-air flight in a monoplane. Thus, he joined Société Des Moteurs Gnome (the Gnome motor company founded by
Louis Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...
and Laurent Seguin in 1905) where he worked on their 7-cylinder
Gnome Omega The Gnome 7 Omega (commonly called the Gnome 50 hp) is a French seven-cylinder, air-cooled aero engine produced by Gnome et Rhône. It was shown at the Paris Aero Salon held in December 1908 and was first flown in 1909. It was the world's ...
rotary engine The rotary engine is an early type of internal combustion engine, usually designed with an odd number of cylinders per row in a radial configuration. The engine's crankshaft remained stationary in operation, while the entire crankcase and i ...
project, and became a key developer of the basic idea. The Omega set a benchmark with its delivery of 50 hp (37 kW) from . He also had a special role in the company whereby he was seconded to directly support the aviators who were using the Omega. At Gnome, he worked with
Jules Védrines Jules Charles Toussaint Védrines (29 December 1881 – 21 April 1919) was an early French aviator, notable for being the first pilot to fly at more than 100 mph and for winning the Gordon Bennett Trophy race in 1912. Biography Jules Védrin ...
, another young engineer who went on to win the special consolation prize in the 1911 ''
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'' Round-Britain Air race and the overall prize in the
1911 Paris to Madrid air race The 1911 Paris to Madrid air race was a three-stage international flying competition, the first of several European air races of that summer. The winner was French aviator Jules Védrines, although his win, along with the rest of the race, were ...
. One of the notable events of the
Grande Semaine d'Aviation The ''Grande Semaine d'Aviation de la Champagne'' was an 8-day aviation meeting held near Reims in France in 1909, so-named because it was sponsored by the major local champagne growers. It is celebrated as the first international public flying e ...
held at Reims in August 1909 was the public debut of the Gnome rotary engine, and Gnome-engined aircraft won first and third places in the distance prize.
Henri Farman Henri Farman (26 May 1874– 17 July 1958) was a British-French aviator and aircraft designer and manufacturer with his brother Maurice Farman. Before dedicating himself to aviation he gained fame as a sportsman, specifically in cycling and moto ...
's winning flight of () was made with a Gnome engine which had been installed immediately before the flight, his previous engine having proved unreliable. He used the same aircraft to win the passenger carrying prize.


Blériot years

On 20 August 1910, Lemartin signed a contract to join
Louis Bleriot Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...
's flying school to train as a pilot and work as an engineer. By this contract, he becomes the first ever official Test Pilot in the world. He qualified six weeks later on 4 October. His registration number was 249, and he was assigned to Bleriot's schools at
Étampes Étampes () is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southwest from the center of Paris (as the crow flies). Étampes is a sub-prefecture of the Essonne department. Étampes, together with the neighboring c ...
and Pau. His contract entitled him to 400 francs per month (about €1,100 in 2006), 30 francs per flight (~€80), and 32,500 francs (~€87,000) to his widow in case of death. On 4 October 1910 he was awarded Aviator's Certificate number 249 by the
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, ...
. On 3 February 1911, at Pau, he broke the world record by carrying seven passengers in a Blériot XIII, surpassing
Roger Sommer Roger Sommer (4 August 1877 in Pierrepont, France – 14 April 1965 at Sainte-Maxime) was a French aviator. Born to Alfred Sommer, a Belgian industrialist, Roger Sommer became involved with aviation from an early age. He broke the record for ...
's previous record of six. During March 1911, he went on to increase the record to eight, then eleven, and finally thirteen passengers, and including the aviators Jeanne Herveu (founder of the first flying school for women.), and
Paul Wyss Paul Wyss (born 7 July 1928) is a Swiss politician ( FDP). The former ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belon ...
, a
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pilot who was training at the Bleriot school in Pau at the time. On 24 May 1911, three weeks before his death, he reportedly surpassed the world speed record, although it was never officially authorised. He achieved between Etampes and
Toury Toury () is a Communes of France, commune in the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in northern France. Toury station has rail connections to Orléans, Étampes and Paris. Population History On 31 October 1908 Louis Blériot succeed ...
in a Blériot using "his own" enhanced model of the Gnome motor. (The official record of was set by Leblanc on 12 June during qualifying for the '' Gordon Bennett Trophy''.) On 1 June 1911, he signed a new contract with Louis Bleriot, becoming a member of the race team to compete at major events and receive one third of any prizes won. The total prize money for the event was 450,000 francs (about €1,200,000 in 2006), made up of a number of separate prizes for the various stages of the race.


Death and commemoration

Lemartin died in a crash on 18 June 1911 during the first leg of ''Le Circuit Européen'' (Tour of Europe) air race. He was still within sight of the reportedly 'up to 1 million' spectators at the take-off in
Vincennes Vincennes (, ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is next to but does not include the Château de Vincennes and Bois de Vincennes, which are attached ...
. The '' Circuit Européen'' (Tour of Europe) was his first competition. The night before his departure from Vincennes, he was working on the machines of his teammates
Gustav Hamel Gustav Wilhelm Hamel (25 June 1889 – missing 23 May 1914) was a pioneer British aviator. He was prominent in the early history of aviation in Britain, and in particular that of Hendon airfield, where Claude Graham-White was energeticall ...
and Lieutenant
Jean Louis Conneau Jean Louis Conneau (8 Feb 1880 Lodève, Hérault – 5 August 1937, Lodève), better known under the pseudonym André Beaumont, was a pioneer French aviator, Naval Lieutenant and Flying boat manufacturer. Flying career Conneau used the pseu ...
(flying under the name André Beaumont) who went on to win both ''Le Circuit Européen'' and ''Paris-Rome''. Thus the next morning, 18 June, Lemartin was tired. That morning, the weather was not good and Roland Garros, who was the first to start, had to scratch. He advised Lemartin against flying because ''"les ailes souples ne vont pas tenir!"'' ("the wings are too flexible and will not hold"), but Lemartin wanted to achieve his dream of racing before a million spectators. According to the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' of 19 June 1911:
The wind was rising at the start of the contest, and Le Martin, who was one of the most experienced aviators in France, rocked about a good deal as his machine left the ground and swept across the field. His aeroplane had reached the woods, a quarter of a mile beyond the barriers, when it was observed to pitch swiftly downward and into the trees. Le Martin was using a biplane, '' ic' which was broken badly as it fell at the foot of an oak tree. A corner of the motor struck Le Martin's head, crushing his skull, and his right leg was also broken in two places. The aviator was barely alive when he was taken away by Red Cross surgeons, whose stations surrounded the field. The crowds removed their hats as the wounded aviator was carried past, or as word passed among the people that he was dead. Le Martin was alive when he reached the hospital, but expired a few minutes afterwards.
Soon after the crash, Madame Bleriot arrived at the site.
Ernest Monis Antoine Emmanuel Ernest Monis (; 23 May 1846 in Châteauneuf-sur-Charente – 25 May 1929 in Mondouzil) was a French politician of the Third Republic, deputy of Gironde from 1885 to 1889 and then senator of the same department from 1891 to 19 ...
, the
Prime Minister of France The prime minister of France (french: link=no, Premier ministre français), officially the prime minister of the French Republic, is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of the Council of Ministers. The prime minister ...
, who was a spectator, sent his doctor, but Lemartin died on arrival at the hospital ''Saint-Antoine'' in Vincennes. Coincidentally, two other pilots in the race were killed in separate accidents on the same day. Despite his brief career, Lemartin is considered one of the pioneers of French aviation. He was the 59th aviation pioneer to die.''Léon Lemartin, Chef-Pilote de la Maison Blériot'' by Jacques and Olivier Dalmon, Published 2009, Universud, L’Etoile B1, Marseille
/ref> Lemartin is buried at Dunes (Tarn-et-Garonne), where both a street and the airport (Piste Théodore Léon Lemartin) bear his name. His widow Madeleine, who received an insurance allocation of 32,500 francs, continued to raise his three children, Louise, Simone and Léone, plus Jane de Lambert.
/ref> Madeleine subsequently married Léon's brother Albert and they had two more children, Maurice and Roger. Lemartin's only grandson, Jacques Dalmon, wrote his grandfather's biography in 1994 (''Lemartin, pilote-aviateur''). He also published a new revision in 2009 in co-operation with Lemartin's great grandson, Olivier Dalmon (''Léon Lemartin, Chef-Pilote de la Maison Blériot'').


See also

*
List of fatalities from aviation accidents Many notable human fatalities have resulted from aviation accidents and incidents. Those killed as part of a sporting, political or musical group who flew together when the accident took place are usually only listed under the group sections; ho ...


References


Other sources

*Jacques Dalmon, ''Lemartin, pilote-aviateur '', Universud Editeur , 1994. *Jacques & Olivier Dalmon, '' Lemartin, Chef-Pilote de la Maison Blériot '', Universud Editeur, 2009. *Presse Parisienne, Française et Internationale 1910–1911 :
L'Illustration ''L'Illustration'' was a weekly French language, French newspaper published in Paris from 1843 to 1944. It was founded by Édouard Charton with the first issue published on 4 March 1843, it became the first illustrated newspaper in France then, a ...
, Le Matin, L'Excelsior, l'Indépendant,
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... {{DEFAULTSORT:Lemartin, Leon 1883 births 1911 deaths Aviation history of France Aviation pioneers Members of the Early Birds of Aviation French aerospace engineers Accidental deaths in France French aviation record holders Arts et Métiers ParisTech alumni Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in France Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1911