Otto Lilienthal

Otto Lilienthal
Lilienthal, c. 1895
Born
Karl Wilhelm Otto Lilienthal

(1848-05-23)23 May 1848
Anklam, Province of Pomerania, Kingdom of Prussia, German Confederation
Died10 August 1896(1896-08-10) (aged 48)
Berlin, Province of Brandenburg, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Cause of deathCervical fracture sustained in a hang glider crash
Resting placeLankwitz Cemetery, Berlin
NationalityPrussian, German
EducationCollege Mechanical Engineer Major
OccupationEngineer
Known forSuccessful gliding experiments; "Father of Aviation"
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Spouse
Agnes Fischer
​
(m. 1878⁠–⁠1896)​
Children4[1]
RelativesGustav Lilienthal (brother)
Signature

Karl Wilhelm Otto Lilienthal (23 May 1848 – 10 August 1896) was a German pioneer of aviation who became known as the "flying man".[2] He was the first person to make well-documented, repeated, successful flights with gliders,[3] therefore making the idea of heavier-than-air aircraft a reality. Newspapers and magazines published photographs of Lilienthal gliding, favourably influencing public and scientific opinion about the possibility of flying machines becoming practical.

Lilienthal's work led to his developing the concept of the modern wing.[4][5] His flight attempts in 1891 are seen as the beginning of human flight[6] and the "Lilienthal Normalsegelapparat" is considered the first airplane in series production, making the Maschinenfabrik Otto Lilienthal in Berlin the first airplane production company in the world.[7] He has been referred to as the "father of aviation"[8][9][10] and "father of flight".[11]

On 9 August 1896, Lilienthal’s glider stalled and he was unable to regain control. Falling from about 15 metres (49 ft), he broke his neck and died the next day.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference FamilyTree was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Killed In Trying To Fly", New York Herald, 12 August 1896, retrieved 11 June 2019
  3. ^ DLR baut das erste Serien-Flugzeug der Welt nach Archived 26 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine 2017. Retrieved: 3 March 2017.
  4. ^ Otto-Lilienthal-Museum. "Otto-Lilienthal-Museum Anklam". Lilienthal-museum.de. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  5. ^ "The Lilienthal glider project – DLR Portal". Dlr.de. Archived from the original on 7 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  6. ^ Otto-Lilienthal-Museum. "Otto-Lilienthal-Museum Anklam". Lilienthal-museum.de. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  7. ^ "Like a bird | MTU AEROREPORT". Aeroreport.de. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  8. ^ "DPMA | Otto Lilienthal". Dpma.de. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  9. ^ "In perspective: Otto Lilienthal". Cobaltrecruitment.co.uk. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  10. ^ "Remembering Germany's first "flying man"". The Economist. 20 September 2011. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  11. ^ "Otto Lilienthal, the Glider King". SciHi BlogSciHi Blog. 23 May 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2022.