Alberto Santos-Dumont (20 July 1873 – 23 July 1932)
While most young people of the U.S. are taught that the Wright brothers were the inventors of modern flight and aeronautics, most of the world outside of the U.S. credit Alberto Santos-Dumont of Brazil for the amazing achievement of being the first to master aeroplane flight. While there is some argument about who was actually first, the Wright brothers or Santos-Dumont, clearly Santos-Dumont was far more influential in the future of aeronautics and aircraft design. After watching the NOVA PBS special "Wings of Madness", I too have become a Santos-Dumontian and acknowledge Santos-Dumont as the father of modern aviation.
posted by Curt at 4:29 PM
4 Comments:
Yo Curt! Did you lose a bet or something?
Nope, didn't lose a bet. I just got a little enlightenment. We as people of the U.S. so easily take history at face value and this is just another example of where we accept history that is HIS-tory.
I totally agree C-Boogie. The American mind is lazy. True historical knowledge takes effort, inquisitiveness, and humility for, in search of the truth we may find that our great nation is not so great, at least not to the extent HIStory would lead us to believe. Aerodynamics a product of Latino ingenuity? Nuclear physics and electro chemistry a regurgitation of ancient negroid-Egyptian alchemy??
Dig deep, and leave American pride at the door.
El Presidente
Last week I was charmed to find Santos-Dumont making headlines in the world once again. 4F and Cartier both decided to highlight the accomplishments of the bohemian and talented engineer in their pages. I understand Cartier's interest, Santos-Dumont loved Paris and all things French, (not to mention that he was a close friend of Pierre) but to find Santos-Dumont gracing the pages of 4F was delightful indeed.
While I will allow that claiming Santos-Dumont as father of modern aviation is highly controversial, given the closeness of dates and methods used by both the Wright brothers and Santos-Dumont, I find extremely puzzling the lack of recognition for his accomplishments in American history. Even if only because he represents a challenge to the American aviation claims and a highly disputed one in fact, (ask a Brazilian if you doubt it) Santos-Dumont should be part of our historical lexicon and trivial knowledge. In this particular case I find Goethe’s words on history right on target:
“Not all that is presented to us as history has really happened; and what really happened did not actually happen the way it is presented to us; moreover, what really happened is only a small part of all that happened. Everything in history remains uncertain, the largest events as well as the smallest occurrence.”
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