Armand Deperdussin
French aerospace engineer (1864–1924)1
Armand Deperdussin (July 8, 1864 in Liège, Belgium – June 11, 1924 in Paris) was a French industrialist and aviation pioneer. Having established himself as a silk-broker, he became involved in the aviation industry in 1910 after witnessing the triumphs of aviator Louis Blériot, founding Société de Production des Aéroplanes Deperdussin.2
From Wikipedia’s article on Armand Deperdussin (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Born Jul 8, 1864, died Jun 11, 1924.1
About
In 1912 he bought Champagne Airfield, and built 30 workshops and other buildings, founding one of the first flying schools.
He hired aircraft designer Louis Béchereau, who designed monohull aircraft whose streamlined shapes achieved previously unattainable performance. With dedicated staff and revolutionary technical advances, the company won many prizes, especially the international Gordon Bennett Trophy in France in 1912 with pilot Jules Védrines, who became the first pilot to fly over 100 mph [169.6 km/h (105.4 mph)], and again in 1913 with pilot Maurice Prévost, who flew 200.8 km/h (124.8 mph).
The company went bankrupt in August 1913, and Deperdussin was disgraced in 1913 when he was accused of obtaining bank loans by fraud and forgery. He was not brought to trial until 1917, and on March 30, 1917 he was convicted of embezzling 32 million francs from his company, fined 1,000 francs, and jailed for five years.
The company was renamed the Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés (SPAD) when it was taken over by Blériot Aéronautique in 1914.
From Wikipedia’s article on Armand Deperdussin, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2
Companies
Early life and education
- Date not recordedESPCI Paris, PSL University3
Career
Occupation: businessperson.5
- Date not recordedFounded Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés4
Personal life
Awards
- 1912Knight of the Legion of Honour9
Links
Sources
The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.
- 1WikidataArmand Deperdussin on Wikidata
- 2WikipediaArmand Deperdussin on Wikipedia
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