science · 10 August 1896 · 128 years ago
death
Died 10 Aug 1896 at age 48 (born 23 May 1848).
German aeronautical engineer and inventor whose pioneering studies formed a foundation for Octave Chanute and the brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright. His prior inventions, such as a small steam engine that worked on a system of tubular boilers designed for safety, brought him financial success. In 1891, he built and flew in the Derwitzer Glider. Within the next five years (before he died in a crash), assisted by his brother, Gustav, he designed other gliders and made 2000 flights. He carefully studied the aerodynamics of rigid wings, inspired by the gliding flight of storks made without flapping their wings. Although his aircraft achieved only low speed and altitudes, and he had survived other crashes, he broke his spine and died the day following a crash, falling from about 56-feet.
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