João Ribeiro de Barros (4 April 1900 – 20 July 1947) was the first

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 ...

of the three Americas to make an air crossing from

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, on April 28, 1927, crossing the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

with the Savoia-Marchetti S.55 hydroplane ''Jahú''. On his flight, he had the company of three others: João Negrão (co-pilot), Newton Braga (navigator) and Vasco Cinquini (mechanic). The four

s departed from

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, in

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 ...

, to Santo Amaro (São Paulo), with stopovers in

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Cabo Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

and

Fernando de Noronha Fernando de Noronha (), officially the State District of Fernando de Noronha () and formerly known as the Federal Territory of Fernando de Noronha () until 1988, is an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, and ...

, in the Brazilian territory.

History

De Barros was a student of ''Ateneu Jauense'' and completed secondary school at the Instituto de Ciências e Letras of

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. He was considered a good student. He ingressed in Faculdade do Largo de São Francisco (USP today). In 1919, he abandoned school and decided to study mechanical engineering in the US. On February 21, 1923 he obtained the No.88 international brevet of Aviator International League in

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 ...

. He started his pilot career in France and obtained more training in air navigation and as a pilot in the US, and air acrobatics in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. In 1926, he started a project: to realize a "raid", from Italy, on board a hydroplane, to Brazil, in an independent flight without the use of ships.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barros, Joao Ribeiro de 1900 births 1947 deaths Brazilian aviators Transatlantic flight People from Jaú Municipal Chamber of São Paulo councillors

History

See also

References