1897, Oct. 17 - Ader flies 1000 ft. at Satory, France. First flight by a human being.

1903, Dec. 17 - The Wright brothers make a 59 sec. flight at Dayton, USA.

1905, Oct. 4 - The Wright brothers fly 24 1/2 miles. in 38 min. 3 sec, at Dayton.

1906, Aug. 22 - A.Santos Dumont rises from the ground. First public flight in Europe.

1908, Jan. 13 - H. Farman makes the first circular flight (1,093 yards) in Europe at Issy, France.

1908, May. 30 - H. Farman flies with a passenger 1,360 yards at Ghent, Belgium. First public passenger flight.

1908, Oct. 30 - H.Farman makes the first cross country flight from Chalons to Rheims - 16 1/2 miles.

1909, July. 25 - L. Blériot flies from Calais to Dover.

1909, Aug. 27 - H. Farman flies 112 miles in 3 hours. 4 min. 56 sec. at Rheims.

1909, Aug. 29 - H. Farman carries two passengers for 6.21 miles at Rheims.

1910, Apr. 27, 28 - Louis Paulham flies from London to Manchester (150 miles) with one halt, in 4 hours. 2 min.

1910, May. 29 - Glenn Curtiss flies from Albany to New York (150 miles) with two halts, in 2 hours. 54 min. (51m.p.h.)

1910, June. 2 - C.S. Rolls flies from Dover to Calais and back without alighting.

1910, July. 9 - At Rheims, Mamet flies 1 hour. 38 min. 20 sec. with two passengers on his monoplane.

1910, July. 10 - L.F. Morane flies 20 kilo at Rheims at an average speed of 66 m.p.h.

1910, July. 10 - M. Olieslaegers flies 245 miles, at Rheims in 5 hours. 3 min. 5 sec.

1910, Aug. 3 - M.Chavez attains height of 5,850ft at Blackpool.

1910, Aug. 29 - At Douai, France, Bréquet flies with five passengers on his biplane.

1910, Dec. 18 - at Buc, France. H. Farman makes a flight of 8 hours. 12 min. 54 sec. duration.

1910, Dec. 18 - T. Sopwith flies from Eastchurch, Isle of Sheppey to Beaumont in Belgium. 169 miles.

Thomas Sopwith. 1910

1910, Dec. 21 - At Pau, France, Legagneux flies 320' 6 miles in 5 hours. 59 min. on a Blériot monoplane (53' 6 m.p.h.)

1910, Dec. 21 - At Etampes, France, Dutrieux flies 104 miles in 2 hour.35 min.

1910, Dec. 21 - Lieut. Camerman, with a passenger, makes a cross country flight from Montigny to Chalons and back

without alighting. 144 miles in 4 hours. 2 min.30 sec.

1910, Dec. 26 - At Los Angeles, California, Hoxsey attains a height of 10,400ft.

1910, Dec. 30 - At Buc, France, Tabuteau flies 362' 8 miles in 7 hours. 48 min.

1910, Dec. 31 - At Farnborough, Cody flies 4 hours. 47 min. covering 189' 3 miles.

Samuel Franklin Cody

In 1910, using a newly-built aircraft Cody won the prestigious Michelin Cup with a flight of 4 hours 47 minutes. In 1911 the Cody III was the only British plane to complete the Daily Mail's 'Circuit of Great Britain' race, finishing fourth. The Cody V machine with a new 120 hp (90 kW) engine won the £5,000 prize at the Military Trials on Salisbury Plain in 1912.

Cody continued to work on aircraft using his own funds. On 7 August 1913 he was out for a joyride in his latest design, a floatplane, when it broke up at 500 ft and he and his passenger were both killed. He was buried with full military honours in the Aldershot Military Cemetery; the funeral procession drew an estimated crowd of 100,000.

Ref. Nelson's Encyclopedia. This article was written in the early 1900's and is published here in its original form.