1-157-213 - Oxford Science Archive/Heritage Images

Alberto Santos-Dumont, Brazilian aviation pioneer, 1901. Santos-Dumont (1873-1932) made his first flight in the balloon 'Brasil' in 1898, and later that year his second balloon, 'America', remained in the air for 22 hours, winning him the Aero Club of Paris award. He solved the problem of steering airships when he circumnavigated the Eiffel Tower in his 'Santos-Dumont no. 6' dirigible in 1901 (pictured), for which he was awarded the Deutsch Prize. He later moved on to designing aeroplanes, and his '14 bis', an aeroplane with box-kite wings and tail which flew tail first made the first successful officially observed aeroplane flight in Europe in November 1906. His most successful aeroplane was the 'Demoiselle', built in 1909, which became a favourite with sporting pilots. Santos-Dumont became increasingly disillusioned with the use of aviation in warfare, and returned to Brazil, committing suicide in 1932. Cartoon from Vanity Fair, London, 14 November 1901.