Aviation History – July 23, 1932. On this Saturday, July 23, 1932, a great name in aviation bows out: indeed, we deplore the death on this day of the pilot of Franco-Brazilian nationality Alberto Santos-Dumont. It was in Brazil that he died, more precisely in Guarujá, where he committed suicide, the latter hanging himself to end his life, while suffering from multiple sclerosis for four years. An illness that led him to this unfortunate gesture.
Alberto Santos-Dumont had opened the doors to heaven by winning all the pilot’s licenses whether for aeroplanes, airships or balloons, making him the first pilot to have them all. At the controls of all these aircraft, he had distinguished himself: in 1901, the Deutsch de la Meurthe prize, the endowment of which amounted to 100,000 francs, had been awarded to him, Santos-Dumont winning it with his airship. With his biplane called “14 Bis”, he stood out by climbing to a height of three meters to travel about sixty meters on October 23, 1906. On November 12 of the same year, he traveled a total of 220 meters, moving at a speed of 40 km per hour.
A few first exploits that will give way to many others later, which will allow him to make a name for himself in the world of aerial locomotion.
