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Louis Charles Joseph Blériot ( , also , ; 1 July 1872 – 1 August 1936) was a French
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 ...
,
inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...
, and
engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...
. He developed the first practical headlamp for cars and established a profitable business manufacturing them, using much of the money he made to finance his attempts to build a successful aircraft. Blériot was the first to use the combination of hand-operated joystick and foot-operated rudder control as used to the present day to operate the aircraft control surfaces. Blériot was also the first to make a working, powered, piloted
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 ...
.Gibbs-Smith 1953, p. 239 In 1909 he became world-famous for making the first aeroplane flight across the English Channel, winning the prize of £1,000 offered by the ''
Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...
'' newspaper. He was the founder of Blériot Aéronautique, a successful aircraft manufacturing company.


Early years

Born at No.17h rue de l'Arbre à Poires (now rue Sadi-Carnot) in
Cambrai Cambrai (, ; ; ), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the Escaut river. A sub-pref ...
, Louis was the first of five children born to Clémence and Charles Blériot. In 1882, aged 10, Blériot was sent as a boarder to the Institut Notre Dame in Cambrai, where he frequently won class prizes, including one for engineering drawing. When he was 15, he moved on to the ''
lycée In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for students between ...
'' at
Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...
, where he lived with an aunt. After passing the exams for his baccalaureate in science and German, he determined to try to enter the prestigious École Centrale in Paris. Entrance was by a demanding exam for which special tuition was necessary: consequently Blériot spent a year at the
Collège Sainte-Barbe The Collège Sainte-Barbe () is a former college in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. The Collège Sainte-Barbe was founded in 1460 on Montagne Sainte-Geneviève ( Latin Quarter, Paris). It was until its closure in June 1999 the "oldest ...
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 ...
. He passed the exam, placing 74th among the 243 successful candidates, and doing especially well in the tests of engineering drawing ability. After three years of demanding study at the École Centrale, Blériot graduated 113th of 203 in his graduating class. He then embarked on a term of compulsory military service, and spent a year as a sub-lieutenant in the 24th Artillery Regiment, stationed in
Tarbes Tarbes (; Gascon language, Gascon: ''Tarba'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of southwestern France. It is ...
in the
Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...
. He later got a job with Baguès, an electrical engineering company in Paris. He left the company after developing the world's first practical headlamp for automobiles, using a compact integral
acetylene Acetylene (Chemical nomenclature, systematic name: ethyne) is a chemical compound with the formula and structure . It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is u ...
generator. In 1897, Blériot opened a showroom for headlamps at 41 rue de Richlieu in Paris. The business was successful, and soon he was supplying his lamps to both
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and Panhard-Levassor, two of the foremost automobile manufacturers of the day. In October 1900 Blériot was lunching in his usual restaurant near his showroom when his eye was caught by a young woman dining with her parents. That evening, he told his mother "I saw a young woman today. I will marry her, or I will marry no one." A bribe to a waiter secured her identity; she was Alice Védères, the daughter of a retired army officer. Blériot set about courting her with the same determination that he later brought to his aviation experiments, and on 21 February 1901 the couple were married.


Early aviation experiments

Blériot had become interested in aviation while at the Ecole Centrale, but his serious experimentation was probably sparked by seeing Clément Ader's Avion III at the 1900 Exposition Universelle. By then his headlamp business was doing well enough for Blériot to be able to devote both time and money to experimentation. His first experiments were with a series of
ornithopter An ornithopter (from Greek language, Greek ''ornis, ornith-'' 'bird' and ''pteron'' 'wing') is an aircraft that flies by flapping its wings. Designers sought to imitate the flapping-wing flight of birds, bats, and insects. Though machines may dif ...
s, which were unsuccessful. In April 1905, Blériot met Gabriel Voisin, who was then employed by Ernest Archdeacon to assist with his experimental gliders. Blériot was a spectator at Voisin's first trials of the floatplane glider he had built on 8 June 1905. Cine photography was among Blériot's hobbies, and the film footage of this flight was shot by him. The success of these trials prompted him to commission a similar machine from Voisin, the Blériot II glider. On 18 July an attempt to fly this aircraft was made, ending in a crash in which Voisin nearly drowned, but this did not deter Blériot. Indeed, he suggested that Voisin should stop working for Archdeacon and enter into partnership with him. Voisin accepted the proposal, and together with his brother Charles Voisin and Édouard Surcouf they established the ''Ateliers d' Aviation Edouard Surcouf, Blériot et Voisin'', possibly the world's first aircraft manufacturing company. Active between 1905 and 1906, the company built two unsuccessful powered aircraft, the Blériot III and the Blériot IV, which was largely a rebuild of its predecessor. Both these aircraft were powered with the lightweight Antoinette engines being developed by Léon Levavasseur. Blériot became a shareholder in the company, and in May 1906, joined the board of directors. The Blériot IV was damaged in a taxiing accident at Bagatelle on 12 November 1906. The disappointment of the failure of his aircraft was compounded by the success of Alberto Santos Dumont later that day, when he managed to fly his 14-bis a distance of , winning the Aéro Club de France prize for the first flight of over 100 metres. This also took place at Bagatelle, and was witnessed by Blériot. The partnership with Voisin was dissolved and Blériot established his own business, Recherches Aéronautiques Louis Blériot, where he started creating his own aircraft, experimenting with various configurationsSanger 2008, pp. 92–93. and eventually creating the world's first successful powered monoplane. The first of these, the canard configuration Blériot V, was first tried on 21 March 1907, when Blériot limited his experiments to ground runs, which resulted in damage to the undercarriage. Two further ground trials, also damaging the aircraft, were undertaken, followed by another attempt on 5 April. The flight was only of around 6 m (20 ft), after which he cut his engine and landed, slightly damaging the undercarriage. More trials followed, the last on 19 April when, travelling at a speed of around 50 km/h (30 mph), the aircraft left the ground, Blériot over-responded when the nose began to rise, and the machine hit the ground nose-first, and somersaulted. The aircraft was largely destroyed, but Blériot was, by great good fortune, unhurt. The engine of the aircraft was immediately behind his seat, and he was very lucky not to have been crushed by it. This was followed by the Blériot VI, a
tandem wing QAC Quickie Q2 A tandem wing is a wing configuration in which a flying craft or animal has two or more sets of wings set one behind another. All the wings contribute to lift. The tandem wing is distinct from the biplane in which the wings are ...
design, first tested on 7 July, when the aircraft failed to lift off. Blériot then enlarged the wings slightly, and on 11 July a short successful flight of around 25–30 metres (84–100 ft) was made, reaching an altitude of around 2 m (7 ft). This was Blériot's first truly successful flight. Further successful flights took place that month, and by 25 July he had managed a flight of 150 m (490 ft). On 6 August he managed to reach an altitude of 12 m (39 ft), but one of the blades of the propeller worked loose, resulting in a heavy landing which damaged the aircraft. He then fitted a 50 hp (37  kW) V-16 Antoinette engine. Tests on 17 September showed a startling improvement in performance: the aircraft quickly reached an altitude of 25 m (82 ft), when the engine suddenly cut out and the aircraft went into a spiralling nosedive. In desperation Blériot climbed out of his seat and threw himself towards the tail. The aircraft partially pulled out of the dive, and came to earth in a more or less horizontal attitude. His only injuries were some minor cuts on the face, caused by fragments of glass from his broken goggles. After this crash Blériot abandoned the aircraft, concentrating on his next machine. This, the Blériot VII, was a monoplane with tail surfaces arranged in what has become, apart from its use of differential
elevators An elevator (American English) or lift (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive tracti ...
movement for lateral control, the modern conventional layout. This aircraft, which first flew on 16 November 1907, has been recognised as the first successful monoplane. On 6 December Blériot managed two flights of over 500 metres, including a successful U-turn. This was the most impressive achievement to date of any of the French pioneer aviators, causing Patrick Alexander to write to Major Baden Baden-Powell, president of the Royal Aeronautical Society, "I got back from Paris last night. I think Blériot with his new machine is leading the way". Two more successful flights were made on 18 December, but the undercarriage collapsed after the second flight; the aircraft overturned and was wrecked. Blériot's next aircraft, the Blériot VIII was shown to the press in February 1908. Although it was the first to use of a successful combination of hand/arm-operated joystick and foot-operated rudder control, this was a failure in its first form. After modifications, it proved successful, and on 31 October 1908 he succeeded in making a cross-country flight, making a round trip from Toury to Arteny and back, a total distance of . This was not the first cross-country flight by a narrow margin, since Henri Farman had flown from Bouy to
Rheims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...
the preceding day. Four days later, the aircraft was destroyed in a taxiing accident. Three of his aircraft were displayed at the first Paris Aero Salon, held at the end of December: the Blériot IX monoplane; the Blériot X, a three-seat pusher biplane; and the
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. ...
, which went on to be his most successful model. The first two of the designs, which used Antoinette engines, never flew, possibly because at this time, Blériot severed his connection with the Antoinette company because the company had begun to design and construct aircraft as well as engines, presenting Blériot with a conflict of interests. The Type XI was initially powered by a REP engine and was first flown with this engine on 18 January 1909, but although the aircraft flew well, after a very short time in the air, the engine began to overheat, leading Blériot to get in touch with Alessandro Anzani, who had developed a successful motorcycle engine and had subsequently entered the aero-engine market. Importantly, Anzani was associated with Lucien Chauvière, who had designed a sophisticated laminated walnut propeller. The combination of a reliable engine and an efficient propeller contributed greatly to the success of the Type XI. This was shortly followed by the Blériot XII, a high-wing two-seater monoplane first flown on 21 May, and for a while Blériot concentrated on flying this machine, flying it with a passenger on 2 July, and on 12 July making the world's first flight with two passengers, one of whom was Santos Dumont. A few days later the
crankshaft A crankshaft is a mechanical component used in a reciprocating engine, piston engine to convert the reciprocating motion into rotational motion. The crankshaft is a rotating Shaft (mechanical engineering), shaft containing one or more crankpins, ...
of the E.N.V. engine broke, and Blériot resumed trials of the Type XI. On 25 June he made a flight lasting 15 minutes and 30 seconds, his longest to date, and the following day increased this personal record to over 36 minutes. At the end of July he took part in an aviation meet at Douai, where he made a flight lasting over 47 minutes in the Type XII on 3 July: the following day he flew the Type XI for 50 minutes at another meet at Port-Aviation (often called "Juvisy Airfield") at Viry-Châtillon, and on 13 July he made a cross-country flight of from Etampes to
Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and
asbestos Asbestos ( ) is a group of naturally occurring, Toxicity, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous Crystal habit, crystals, each fibre (particulate with length su ...
insulation worked loose from the exhaust pipe after 15 minutes in the air. After half an hour, one of his shoes had been burnt through and he was in considerable pain, but nevertheless continued his flight until engine failure ended the flight. Blériot suffered third-degree burns, and his injuries took over two months to heal. On 16 June 1909, Blériot and Voisin were jointly awarded the Prix Osiris, awarded by the
Institut de France The ; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the . It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute manages approximately ...
every three years to the Frenchman who had made the greatest contribution to science. Three days later, on 19 June, he informed the ''
Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...
'' of his intention to make an attempt to win the thousand-pound prize offered by the paper for a successful crossing of the
English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
in a heavier-than-air aircraft.


1909 Channel crossing

The ''Daily Mail'' prize was first announced in October 1908, with a prize of £500 being offered for a flight made before the end of the year. When 1908 passed with no serious attempt being made, the offer was renewed for the year of 1909, with the prize money doubled to £1,000 (). Like some of the other prizes offered, it was widely seen as nothing more than a way to gain cheap publicity for the paper: the Paris newspaper '' Le Matin'' commenting that there was no chance of the prize being won. The English Channel had been crossed many times by balloon, beginning with
Jean-Pierre Blanchard Jean-Pierre rançoisBlanchard (; 4 July 1753 – 7 March 1809) was a French inventor, best known as a pioneer of gas balloon flight, who distinguished himself in the conquest of the air in a balloon. Notable for his successful hydrogen balloo ...
and
John Jeffries John Jeffries (5 February 1744 – 16 September 1819 using Old Style Dating, 5 February 1745 – 16 September 1819 using New Style) was an American physician, scientist, and military surgeon with the British Army in Nova Scotia and New York du ...
's crossing in 1785.Gibbs-Smith 1953, pp. 96–97."Balloon Intelligence." ''
Daily Universal Register ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
,''Issue 8, January 1785, p. 2.
Blériot, who intended to fly across the Channel in his Type XI monoplane, had three rivals for the prize, the most serious being Hubert Latham, a French national of English extraction flying an Antoinette IV monoplane. He was favoured by both the United Kingdom and France to win. The others were Charles de Lambert, a Russian
aristocrat The aristocracy (''from Greek'' ''ἀριστοκρατία'' ''aristokratía'', "rule of the best"; ''Latin: aristocratia'') is historically associated with a "hereditary" or a "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the ...
with French ancestry, and one of
Wilbur Wright The Wright brothers, Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur Wright (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), were American aviation List of aviation pioneers, pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flyin ...
's pupils, and Arthur Seymour, an Englishman who reputedly owned a Voisin biplane. De Lambert got as far as establishing a base at Wissant, near Calais, but Seymour did nothing beyond submitting his entry to the ''Daily Mail''. Lord Northcliffe, who had befriended Wilbur Wright during his sensational 1908 public demonstrations in France, had offered the prize hoping that Wilbur would win. Wilbur wanted to make an attempt and cabled brother Orville in the United States. Orville, then recuperating from serious injuries sustained in a crash, replied telling him not to make the Channel attempt until he could come to France and assist. Also Wilbur had already amassed a fortune in prize money for altitude and duration flights and had secured sales contracts for the Wright Flyer with the French, Italians, British and Germans; his tour in Europe was essentially complete by the summer of 1909. Both brothers saw the Channel reward of only a thousand pounds as insignificant considering the dangers of the flight. Latham arrived in
Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...
in early July, and set up his base at
Sangatte Sangatte (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department on the northern coast of France on the English Channel. The name is of Flemish origin, meaning hole or gap in the sand. Engineering Sangatte i ...
in the semi-derelict buildings which had been constructed for an 1881 attempt to dig a tunnel under the Channel. The event was the subject of great public interest; it was reported that there were 10,000 visitors at Calais and a similar crowd at
Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...
. The
Marconi Company The Marconi Company was a British telecommunications and engineering company founded by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 which was a pioneer of wireless long distance communication and mass media broadcasting, eventually becoming on ...
set up a special radio link for the occasion, with one station on Cap Blanc Nez near Sangatte and the other on the roof of the Lord Warden Hotel in Dover. The crowds were in for a wait: the weather was windy, and Latham did not make an attempt until 19 July, but from his destination his aircraft developed engine trouble and was forced to make the world's first landing of an aircraft on the sea. Latham was rescued by the French destroyer '' Harpon'' and taken back to France,Walsh 2007, pp. 93–97. where he was met by the news that Blériot had entered the competition. Blériot, accompanied by two mechanics and his friend Alfred Leblanc, arrived in Calais on Wednesday 21 July and set up their base at a farm near the beach at Les Baraques, between Calais and Sangatte. The following day a replacement aircraft for Latham was delivered from the Antoinette factory. The wind was too strong for an attempted crossing on Friday and Saturday, but on Saturday evening it began to drop, raising hopes in both camps. Leblanc went to bed at around midnight but was too keyed up to sleep well; at two o'clock, he was up, and judging that the weather was ideal woke Blériot who, unusually, was pessimistic and had to be persuaded to eat breakfast. His spirits revived, however, and by half past three, his wife Alice had boarded the destroyer ''Escopette'', which was to escort the flight. At 4:15 am, 25 July, watched by an excited crowd, Blériot made a short trial flight in his Type XI, and then, on a signal that the sun had risen (the competition rules required a flight between sunrise and sunset), he took off at 4:41 to attempt the crossing. Flying at approximately and an
altitude Altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum (geodesy), datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context (e.g., aviation, geometr ...
of about 250 ft (76 m), he set off across the Channel. Not having a
compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with No ...
, Blériot took his course from the ''Escopette'', which was heading for Dover, but he soon overtook the ship. The visibility deteriorated, and he later said, "for more than 10 minutes I was alone, isolated, lost in the midst of the immense sea, and I did not see anything on the horizon or a single ship".Clark, Nicola
"100 Years Later, Celebrating a Historic Flight in Europe."
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
,'' 24 July 2009. Retrieved: 25 July 2009.
The grey line of the English coast, however, came into sight on his left; the wind had increased, and had blown him to the east of his intended course. Altering course, he followed the line of the coast about a mile offshore until he spotted Charles Fontaine, the correspondent from '' Le Matin'' waving a large Tricolour as a signal. Unlike Latham, Blériot had not visited Dover to find a suitable spot to land, and the choice had been made by Fontaine, who had selected ( on the advice of Frederick Duckham, an engineer in charge of Dover harbour works) a patch of gently sloping land called Northfall Meadow, close to
Dover Castle Dover Castle is a medieval castle in Dover, Kent, England and is Grade I listed. It was founded in the 11th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history. Some writers say it is the ...
, on top of the cliffs. Once over land, Blériot circled twice to lose height, and cut his engine at an altitude of about , making a heavy "pancake" landing due to the gusty wind conditions; the undercarriage was damaged and one blade of the propeller was shattered, but Blériot was unhurt. The flight had taken 36 minutes and 30 seconds. News of his departure had been sent by radio to Dover, but it was generally expected that he would attempt to land on the beach to the west of the town. The ''Daily Mail'' correspondent, realising that Blériot had landed near the castle, set off at speed in a motor car and took Blériot to the harbour, where he was reunited with his wife. The couple, surrounded by a cheering crowd and photographers, were then taken to the Lord Warden Hotel at the foot of the Admiralty Pier; Blériot had become a celebrity. The ''Blériot Memorial'', the outline of the aircraft laid out in granite setts in the turf (funded by oil manufacturer Alexander Duckham),and built by his brother Frederick Duckham (see above). marks his landing spot above the cliffs near
Dover Castle Dover Castle is a medieval castle in Dover, Kent, England and is Grade I listed. It was founded in the 11th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history. Some writers say it is the ...
. . The aircraft which was used in the crossing is now preserved in the
Musée des Arts et Métiers The Musée des Arts et Métiers (; English: Museum of Arts and Crafts) is an industrial design museum in Paris that houses the collection of the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers, which was founded in 1794 as a repository for the preser ...
in Paris.


Later life

Blériot's success brought about an immediate transformation of the status of ''Recherches Aéronautiques Louis Blériot.'' By the time of the Channel flight, he had spent at least 780,000 francs on his aviation experiments. (To put this figure into context, one of Blériot's skilled mechanics was paid 250 francs a month.) Now this investment began to pay off: orders for copies of the Type XI quickly came, and by the end of the year, orders for over 100 aircraft had been received, each selling for 10,000 francs. At the end of August, Blériot was one of the flyers at the Grande Semaine d'Aviation held at Reims, where he was narrowly beaten by
Glenn Curtiss Glenn Hammond Curtiss (May 21, 1878 – July 23, 1930) was an American aviation and motorcycling pioneer, and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle racer and builder before moving on to motorcycles. As early a ...
in the first Gordon Bennett Trophy. Blériot did, however, succeed in winning the prize for the fastest lap of the circuit, establishing a new world speed record for aircraft. Blériot followed his flights at Reims with appearances at other aviation meetings in
Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...
,
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
,
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
in 1909 (making the first airplane flights in both
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
and
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
). Up to this time he had had great good luck in walking away from accidents that had destroyed the aircraft, but his luck deserted him in December 1909 at an aviation meeting in
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
. Flying in gusty conditions to placate an impatient and restive crowd, he crashed on top of a house, breaking several ribs and suffering internal injuries: he was hospitalized for three weeks. Between 1909 and the outbreak of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
in 1914, Blériot produced about 900 aircraft, most of them variations of the Type XI model. Blériot monoplanes and Voisin-type biplanes, with the latter's Farman derivatives dominated the pre-war aviation market. There were concerns about the safety of monoplanes in general, both in France and the UK. The French government grounded all monoplanes in the French Army from February 1912 after accidents to four Blériots, but lifted it after trials in May supported Blériot's analysis of the problem and led to a strengthening of the
landing wires Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal, aircraft, or spacecraft returns to the ground. When the flying object returns to water, the process is called alighting, although it is commonly called "landing", "touchdown" or "Spla ...
. The brief but influential ban on the use of monoplanes by the Military Wing (though not the Naval Wing) in the UK was triggered by accidents to other manufacturer's aircraft; Blériots were not involved. Along with five other European aircraft builders, from 1910, Blériot was involved in a five-year legal struggle with the
Wright Brothers The Wright brothers, Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur Wright (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), were American aviation List of aviation pioneers, pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flyin ...
over the latter's wing warping patents. The Wrights' claim was dismissed in the French and the German courts. From 1913 or earlier, Blériot's aviation activities were handled by Blériot Aéronautique, based at
Suresnes Suresnes () is a commune in the western inner suburbs of Paris, France. Located in Hauts-de-Seine, from the centre of Paris, it had a population of 49,482 as of 2020. Suresnes borders the Bois de Boulogne in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, ...
, which continued to design and produce aircraft up to the nationalisation of most of the French aircraft industry in 1937, when it was absorbed into
SNCASO SNCASO (abbreviated from ''Société nationale des constructions aéronautiques du Sud-Ouest'' ), or commonly ''Sud-Ouest'', was a French aircraft manufacturer. Created during 1936 as one of seven nationalised aeronautical manufacturing companie ...
. In 1913, a consortium led by Blériot bought the Société pour les Appareils Deperdussin aircraft manufacturer and he became the president of the company in 1914. He renamed it the
Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés Groupe Lactalis S.A. (doing business as Lactalis) is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier S.A. Lactalis is the largest dairy pr ...
(SPAD); this company produced
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
fighter aircraft such as the SPAD S.XIII. Before
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Blériot had opened British flying schools at Brooklands, in
Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
and at
Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...
Aerodrome An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes inc ...
. Realising that a British company would have more chance to sell his models to the British government, in 1915, he set up the Blériot Manufacturing Aircraft Company Ltd. The hoped for orders did not follow, as the Blériot design was seen as outdated. Following an unresolved conflict over control of the company, it was wound up on 24 July 1916. Even before the closure of this company Blériot was planning a new venture in the UK. Initially named Blériot and SPAD Ltd and based in
Addlestone Addlestone ( or ) is a town in Surrey, England. It is located approximately southwest of London. The town is the administrative centre of the Runnymede (borough), Borough of Runnymede, of which it is the largest settlement. Geography Addlesto ...
, it became the Air Navigation and Engineering Company (ANEC) in May 1918. ANEC survived in a difficult aviation climate until late 1926, producing Blériot-Whippet cars, the Blériot 500cc motorcycle, as well as several light aircraft. In 1927, Blériot, long retired from flying, was present to welcome
Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York (state), New York to Paris, a distance of . His aircra ...
when he landed at Le Bourget field completing his transatlantic flight. The two men, separated in age by 30 years, had each made history by crossing significant bodies of water, and shared a photo opportunity in Paris."Lindbergh in Paris with Bleriot Photograph,"
photo and caption,
Wisconsin Historical Society The Wisconsin Historical Society (officially the State Historical Society of Wisconsin) is simultaneously a state agency and a private membership organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of ...
, retrieved September 13, 2021
In 1934, Blériot visited Newark Airport in
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
and predicted commercial overseas flights by 1938.


Death

Blériot remained active in the aviation business until his death on 1 August 1936 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 ...
due to a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
. After a funeral with full military honours at
Les Invalides The Hôtel des Invalides (; ), commonly called (; ), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and an old soldi ...
he was buried in the Cimetière des Gonards in
Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
.


Legacy

In 1930, Blériot himself instituted the ''Blériot Trophy'', a one-time award which would be awarded to the first aircrew to sustain an average speed of over 2,000 kilometers per hour (1,242.742
miles per hour Miles per hour (mph, m.p.h., MPH, or mi/h) is a British imperial and United States customary unit of speed expressing the number of miles travelled in one hour. It is used in the United Kingdom, the United States, and a number of smaller count ...
) over one half of an hour, an extremely ambitious and prophetic target in an era when the fastest aircraft were just breaking the 200 mph mark. The award was finally presented slightly more than three decades later by Alice Védères Blériot, widow of Louis Blériot, at
Paris, France 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 ...
, 27 May 1961, to the crew of the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
Convair B-58A jet bomber, AF serial number 59-2451, ''The Firefly'', crewed by Aircraft Commander
Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
Elmer E. Murphy,
Navigator A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's prim ...
Major Eugene Moses, and Defensive Systems Officer
First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...
David F. Dickerson who on 10 May 1961, sustained an average speed of 2,095 kmph (1,302.07 mph) over 30 minutes and 43 seconds, covering a ground track of 1,077.3 kilometers (669.4 miles). This same crew and aircraft went on to set a number of other speed records before being lost in an accident shortly after takeoff from Paris, not long after setting yet another speed record, winning the Harmon Trophy for a record-setting flight between
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and
Paris, France 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 ...
. This flight was 3,626.46 miles in 3 hours, 19 minutes, 58 seconds, for an average of 1,089.36 mph. The Blériot Trophy winning crew took over the aircraft for the return flight, but were all killed when the pilot lost control shortly after takeoff from the Paris Air Show during some attempted impromptu
aerobatics Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aeroplane" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and gl ...
. The Blériot Trophy is a
statuette A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many media, with cla ...
in the classical style sculpted of polished white and black
marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...
stone, depicting a nude male figure of black marble emerging from stylized white marble clouds resembling female forms. It is now on permanent display at the McDermott Library of the
United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Air Force Academy, Colorado, Air Force Academy Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. I ...
,
Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010. Colorado Springs is the second-most populous c ...
,
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
, USA. In 1936 the
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The World Air Sports Federation (; FAI) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintains worl ...
established the " Louis Blériot medal" in his honor. The medal may be awarded up to three times a year to record setters in speed, altitude and distance categories in light aircraft, and is still being awarded. In 1967 Blériot was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame. On 25 July 2009, the centenary of the original Channel crossing, Frenchman Edmond Salis took off from Blériot Beach in a replica of Bleriot's aircraft. He landed successfully in Kent at the Duke of York's Royal Military School.


In popular culture

* From 1978 to 2003, KLM operated a
Boeing 747-200 The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After the introduction of the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, ...
(registration PH-BUK) named ''Louis Blériot''. The aircraft is currently preserved in the Aviodrome aerospace museum in Lelystad Airport. * In 2002 British train company
Virgin CrossCountry Virgin CrossCountry was a train operating company in the United Kingdom that operated the InterCity CrossCountry passenger franchise from January 1997 until November 2007. Along with the InterCity West Coast franchise held by a separate legal ...
named Class 221 221101 ''Louis Blériot''. * In 2006 Rivendell Bicycle Works introduced a bicycle model named the "Blériot 650B" as a tribute to Blériot. It features his portrait on the seat tube.Edgar, Jim
"Rivendell Blériot."
''cyclofiend.com'', 2009. Retrieved: 24 April 2012.
* A propeller moonlet in the
rings of Saturn Saturn has the most extensive and complex ring system of any planet in the Solar System. The rings consist of particles in orbit around the planet made almost entirely of water ice, with a trace component of Rock (geology), rocky material. Parti ...
was nicknamed Bleriot by imaging scientists.


See also

* Blériot Aéronautique *
Early flying machines Early may refer to: Places in the United States * Early, Iowa, a city * Early, Texas, a city * Early Branch, a stream in Missouri * Early County, Georgia * Fort Early, Georgia, an early 19th century fort Music * Early B, stage name of Jamaican d ...
* List of firsts in aviation


References


Notes


Citations


Bibliography

* Elliot, B.A. ''Blériot: Herald of an Age''. Stroud< UK: Tempus, 2000. . * Gibbs-Smith, C.H. ''A History of Flying''. London: Batsford, 1953. * Grey, C.G. ''Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1938''. London: David & Charles, 1972. . * Jane, F. T. ''Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1913''. Newton Abbot, UK: David & Charles, 1969. * Mackersey, Ian. ''The Wright Brothers: The Remarkable Story of the Aviation Pioneers who Changed the World''. London: Little, Brown, 2003. . * Sanger, R. ''Blériot in Britain''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd., 2008. . * Taylor, M. J. ''Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation''. New York: Portland House, 1989. . * Walsh, Barbara. ''Forgotten Aviator, Hubert Latham: A High-flying Gentleman.'' Stroud, UK: The History Press, 2007. .


External links


US Centennial of Flight Commission: Louis Blériot


* ttps://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bleriot/ "A Daring Flight"– homepage of the '' NOVA'' TV episode *
Louis Blériot Memorial Behind Dover Castle UK

Louis Blériot and wife at House of Commons, after Channel crossing
(by
John Benjamin Stone Sir John Benjamin Stone (9 February 1838 – 2 July 1914) was a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and photographer. Life and career Stone was born in Duddeston, Birmingham the son of a manager at a local glass works. T ...
)
View footage of Blériot's flight in 1909

"Seadromes! Says Blériot," ''Popular Mechanics'', October 1935, one of the last interviews given by Blériot before his death.

Bleriot
(center), in 1927, with
Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York (state), New York to Paris, a distance of . His aircra ...
and Myron T. Herrick * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bleriot, Louis 1872 births 1936 deaths People from Cambrai École Centrale Paris alumni Aviation history of France French aviation pioneers Members of the Early Birds of Aviation French aerospace engineers Commanders of the Legion of Honour French aviation record holders Burials at the Cimetière des Gonards