The memory of Otto Lilienthal, the Jew who was one of the pioneers of aviation, was honored at the dinner attended by a distinguished company of British scientists, pioneers in aircraft construction, and aeronautical research workers held last night round the historic Wright biplane in South Kensington Museum, to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the first controlled flight in a power-driven aeroplane, made by the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk on December 17, 1903.
Griffith Brewer, who was the first Englishman to fly with the Wright brothers, and has been very closely associated with them, said that the Wright brothers learned from such acknowledged leaders in science as Sir George Cayley, the Hon. Charles Parsons, and Sir Hiram Maxim that in their belief the best method of attaining flight was to build a power machine and then learn to fly it; and there was another group which included Otto Lilienthal, Octave Chanute, and Pilcher, who believed in learning to fly on a glider before building the power machine.
Otto Lilienthal, who was born in Anklam in Germany in 1848, was killed while gliding in his machine in 1896. He made a habit of flying in winds of great velocity. There was a wind of unusual force at the time which caught his machine and turned it sideways so that it crashed to the ground, and he sustained injuries of which he died soon after.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
