Alberto Santos Dumont Quotes

Alberto Santos-Dumont was a Brazilian aviation pioneer. The heir of a wealthy family of coffee producers, Santos Dumont dedicated himself to aeronautical study and experimentation in Paris, France, where he spent most of his adult life. In addition to his pioneering work in airships, on 23 October 1906 Santos-Dumont flew an airplane of his own design and construction, the 14-bis or oiseau de proie, the first heavier-than-air flight to be certified by the Aéro Club de France and the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. In his homeland, Brazil, Santos-Dumont is considered a national hero and the father of aviation, having his name written in Brazilian Hero Panthéon. He occupied the 38th chair of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, from 1931 until his death in 1932. His house in Petrópolis, Brazil is now a museum. However, his mysterious death in circumstances not totally explainable, provides sound elements to question if he was not murdered instead.