Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, (27 July 1882 – 21 May 1965) was an English aviation pioneer and

aerospace engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

. The aircraft company he founded produced the

Mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

, which has been considered the most versatile warplane ever built,Davenport-Hines, Richard. "Havilland, Sir Geoffrey de (1882–1965)." ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

''. Ed. H.C.G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. Oxford:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

, 2004
Oxford University
and his

Comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ...

was the first jet airliner to go into production.

Early life

Born at Magdala House, Terriers,

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...

, de Havilland was the second son of

The Reverend The Reverend is an honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. ''The Reverend'' is correctl ...

Charles de Havilland (1854–1920) and his first wife, Alice Jeannette (née Saunders) (1854–1911). He was educated at Nuneaton Grammar School,

St Edward's School, Oxford St Edward's School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in Oxford, England. It is known informally as 'Teddies'. Approximately sixty pupils live in each of its thirteen houses. The school is a member of the Rugby G ...

and the

Crystal Palace School of Engineering Crystal Palace School of Art, Science, and Literature, also known as Crystal Palace Company's School of Art, (1854–1936) was opened in 1854 by the Crystal Palace Company as a new enterprise, to occupy part of its buildings when it re-erected th ...

(from 1900 to 1903). Upon graduating from engineering training, de Havilland pursued a career in

automotive engineering Automotive engineering, along with aerospace engineering and naval architecture, is a branch of vehicle engineering, incorporating elements of mechanical, electrical, electronic, software, and safety engineering as applied to the design, manufac ...

, building cars and motorcycles. He took an apprenticeship with engine manufacturers

Willans & Robinson Willans & Robinson Limited manufacturing engineers of Thames Ditton, Surrey. Later, from 1896, at Victoria Works, Rugby, Warwickshire, England. They were manufacturers of stationary reciprocating steam engines then steam turbines, Diesel motors an ...

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

, after which he worked as a draughtsman for The Wolseley Tool and Motor Car Company Limited in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

, a job from which he resigned after a year. He then spent two years working in the design office of Motor Omnibus Construction Company Limited in

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London and the ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Charing Cross, the town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and Sout ...

. While there he designed his first aero engine and had the first prototype made by Iris Motor Company of

Willesden Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has forme ...

. He married in 1909 and almost immediately embarked on the career of designing, building and flying aircraft to which he devoted the rest of his life.

Aviation career

First flying and administrative officers of the Royal Flying Corps RAE-O790

Built with money borrowed from his maternal grandfather, de Havilland's first aircraft took two years to build. Unfortunately, he crashed it during its first very short flight at Seven Barrows near Litchfield, Hampshire in December 1909. He built a fresh biplane, making his first flight in it from a meadow near Newbury in September 1910. A memorial plaque presently marks the event. Subsequent designs were even more successful: in 1912 he established a new British altitude record of 10,500 feet (3.2 km) in an aircraft of his design, the B.E.2. Geoffrey was the designer and his brother Hereward was the test pilot. In December 1910, de Havilland joined HM Balloon Factory at

Farnborough Farnborough may refer to: Australia * Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone United Kingdom * Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England ** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a railw ...

, which was to become the

Royal Aircraft Factory Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a c ...

. He sold his second aeroplane (which he had used to teach himself to fly) to his new employer for £400. It became the F.E.1, the first aircraft to bear an official Royal Aircraft Factory designation. For the next three years, de Havilland designed, or participated in the design of, a number of experimental types at the "Factory". He was commissioned a second lieutenant (on probation) in the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

on 2 September 1912, was appointed a reserve officer in the RFC on 24 November and was confirmed in his rank on 25 December. In December 1913, de Havilland was appointed an inspector of aircraft for the Aeronautical Inspection Directorate. Unhappy at leaving design work, in May 1914 he was recruited to become the chief designer at Airco, in

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Gre ...

. He designed many aircraft for Airco, all designated by his initials, DH. Large numbers of de Havilland-designed aircraft were used during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, flown by the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

. De Havilland continued to serve in the RFC during the war. On 5 August 1914, he was promoted to lieutenant and appointed a flying officer in the RFC from the same date. He was briefly stationed in Montrose on the east coast of Scotland as an officer on war duty. Flying a Blériot, he was to protect British shipping from German U-boats. After a few weeks, he was released from this duty and returned to Airco. However, he nominally remained in the service until the end of the war. On 30 April 1916, he was promoted to captain and appointed a flight commander. His employer, Airco, was bought in early 1920 by armaments group

Birmingham Small Arms Company The Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited (BSA) was a major British industrial combine, a group of businesses manufacturing military and sporting firearms; bicycles; motorcycles; cars; buses and bodies; steel; iron castings; hand, power, and ...

but discovering it was less than worthless BSA shut down Airco in July 1920. With the help of former Airco owner

George Holt Thomas George Holt Thomas (31 March 1869 – 1 January 1929) aviation industry pioneer and newspaper proprietor. Holt Thomas founded, in 1911, the business which became Aircraft Manufacturing Company Limited or Airco. Son and grandson of successful ar ...

he formed de Havilland Aircraft Company employing some former colleagues. Pleased and impressed by the aircraft they built for him Alan Butler, thereafter company chairman, provided the capital to buy premises and then the airfield at

Stag Lane Aerodrome Stag Lane Aerodrome was a private aerodrome between 1915 and 1933 in Edgware, north London, UK. History The land for an aerodrome was purchased by the London & Provincial Aviation Company (Warren and Smiles - Michael Geoffrey Smiles of Bonning ...

Edgware Edgware () is a suburban town in northern Greater London, mostly in the London Borough of Barnet but with small parts falling in the London Borough of Harrow and in the London Borough of Brent. Edgware is centred north-northwest of Charing Cros ...

, where he and his colleagues designed and built a large number of aircraft, including the ''

Moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

'' family. One of his roles was as a test pilot for the company's aircraft. In 1928 the subsidiary company

De Havilland Canada De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited is an aircraft manufacturer with facilities formerly based in the Downsview area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The original home of de Havilland Canada was the home of the Canadian Air and Space Museum lo ...

was created to build Moth aircraft for the training of Canadian airmen. After the Second World War, it went on to design and produce a number of indigenous types, some of which proved highly successful. In 1933 the company moved to

Hatfield Aerodrome Hatfield Aerodrome was a private airfield and aircraft factory located in the English town of Hatfield in Hertfordshire from 1930 until its closure and redevelopment in the 1990s. Early history Geoffrey de Havilland, pioneering aircraft des ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...

. In 1944 he bought out his friend and engine designer

Frank Halford Major Frank Bernard Halford CBE FRAeS (7 March 1894 – 16 April 1955) was an English aircraft engine designer. He is best known for the series of de Havilland Gipsy engines, widely used by light aircraft in the 1920s and 30s. Career Educate ...

s's consultancy firm, forming the

de Havilland Engine Company The de Havilland Engine Company was an offshoot of the de Havilland aircraft building company, which started life as the 'Engine Division of the de Havilland Aircraft Company' in 1926 producing the famous de Havilland Gipsy aero-engine. The co ...

with Halford as the head. Halford had previously designed a number of engines for de Havilland, including the

de Havilland Gipsy The de Havilland Gipsy is a British air-cooled four-cylinder in-line aircraft engine designed by Frank Halford in 1927 to replace the ADC Cirrus in the de Havilland DH.60 Moth light biplane. Initially developed as an upright 5 litre (3 ...

and

de Havilland Gipsy Major The de Havilland Gipsy Major or Gipsy IIIA is a four-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted inline engine used in a variety of light aircraft produced in the 1930s, including the famous Tiger Moth biplane. Many Gipsy Major engines still power vintag ...

. Halford's first gas turbine design entered production as the de Havilland Goblin powering de Havilland's first jet, the

Vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...

. De Havilland controlled the company until it was bought by the Hawker Siddeley Company in 1960. His financial backer, Alan Butler, remained a very involved chairman until he retired in 1950.

Retirement and death

De Havilland retired from active involvement in his company in 1955, though remaining as president. He continued flying up to the age of 70 making his final flight in a DH85 Leopard Moth, G-ACMA. He died aged 82, of a cerebral haemorrhage, on 21 May 1965 at Watford Peace Memorial Hospital, Hertfordshire.

Honours

De Havilland was made an OBE (Military Division) in the

1918 Birthday Honours The 1918 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, 3 June a ...

, and was honoured with a CBE (Civil Division) in the

1934 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1934 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate the of ...

. He was decorated with the Air Force Cross (AFC) in the

1919 New Year Honours The 1919 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Jan ...

, in recognition of his service in the

. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...

in the 1944 New Year Honours, and was invested with his knighthood by

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of I ...

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

on 15 February 1944. He was appointed to the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by ...

(OM) in November 1962. He received numerous national and international gold and silver medals and honorary fellowships of learned and engineering societies, including the Gold Medal of th
Royal Aero Club
in 1947 and again in 1963. In 1972 de Havilland was inducted into the

International Air & Space Hall of Fame The International Air & Space Hall of Fame is an honor roll of people, groups, organizations, or things that have contributed significantly to the advancement of aerospace flight and technology, sponsored by the San Diego Air & Space Museum. Si ...

.Sprekelmeyer, Linda, editor. ''These We Honor: The International Aerospace Hall of Fame''. Donning Co. Publishers, 2006. . A statue of de Havilland was erected in July 1997 near the entrance to the College Lane campus of the

University of Hertfordshire The University of Hertfordshire (UH) is a public university in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. The university is based largely in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Its antecedent institution, Hatfield Technical College, was founded in 1948 and was ident ...

in Hatfield. He was a benefactor of the university, having given land adjoining the A1 to

Hertfordshire County Council Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England, the United Kingdom. After the 2021 election, it consists of 78 councillors, and is controlled by the Conservative Party, ...

in 1951 for its precursor, the Hatfield Technical College. The statue was unveiled by the Duke of Edinburgh. The De Havilland campus (also known as De Hav) at the university was also named in his honour.

Family

De-havilland-first-flight-memorial-stone

The actresses

Olivia de Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British-American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her time. ...

and Joan Fontaine were de Havilland's cousins; his father, Charles, and their father, Walter, were half-brothers. His younger brother,

Hereward de Havilland Hereward de Havilland (2 December 1894 in Nuneaton, Warwickshire – 12 September 1976 in Australia) was a pioneer British aviator, test pilot and member of the de Havilland company. One of the three sons of Rev. Charles de Havilland, he was ...

, was also a noted pioneer aviator and test pilot. Sir Anthony de Havilland (1969 - ) is a direct descendent of James de Havilland (1553 - 1613) who migrated from Guernsey to Poole in Dorset and was granted the trade license for Poole. In 1909, Geoffrey de Havilland married Louise Thomas, who had formerly been

governess A governess is a largely obsolete term for a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching. In contrast to a nanny, ...

to de Havilland's sisters. They had three sons, Peter, Geoffrey and John. Two of the sons died as test pilots in de Havilland aircraft. His youngest son,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, died in an air collision involving two Mosquitoes in 1943. Geoffrey Jr carried out the first flights of the Mosquito and

and was killed in 1946 flying the jet-powered DH 108 Swallow while diving at or near the speed of sound. Louise suffered a nervous breakdown following these deaths and died in 1949. De Havilland remarried in 1951, to Joan Mary Frith (1900–1974). They remained married until his death.

Posthumous

In 1975, de Havilland's 1961 autobiography, ''Sky Fever'', was re-published by Peter and Anne de Havilland. It was originally published by Hamish Hamilton.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* De Havilland, Geoffrey. ''Sky Fever: The Autobiography of Sir Geoffrey de Havilland''. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK: Crowood Press Ltd., 1999. * Smith, Ron. ''British Built Aircraft: Greater London''. Stroud, UK: Tempus Publishing, 2002.

External links

Geoffrey de Havilland
by BAE Systems
Sir Geoffrey De Havilland (1882–1965), Aircraft designer and manufacturer: Sitter in 11 portraits
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Havilland, Geoffrey 1882 births 1965 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire De Havilland Geoffrey English aerospace engineers English aviators Fellows of the Royal Aeronautical Society Harmon Trophy winners Knights Bachelor Members of the Order of Merit People educated at St Edward's School, Oxford People from High Wycombe People from Fulham Fulham History of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Aeronautical Society Gold Medal winners Royal Flying Corps officers 20th-century English businesspeople