Leon Delagrange

Léon Delagrange (March 13, 1873 - January 4, 1910) was a French aviator; also a sculptor. He was born at Orléans and studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris. As a sculptor, he is known for several notable works, especially "Florentine Page", "A Templar", "Love and Youth", "A Huguenot", and "Girl Dancers." In September, 1908, a year after his first flight in an ax«roplane, he established a record of 15.2 miles in 29 minutes, 53 seconds, and in 1909 he received the Lagatiner prize at Juvisy (3.6 miles in 10 minutes, 18 seconds), made a sensational flight in a storm at Doncaster, England, on October 17 established a world record (6 miles in 7 minutes, 36 seconds), and in December made a new monoplane record. In 1910 he was killed in an accident with his monoplane at Croix d'Hins near to Bordeaux. He was president of the Aéro-Club de France in 1907, and in 1909 was decorated with the order of the Legion of Honor, and in 1910 received a medal from the Paris Academy of Sciences. Allegedly Delagrange had an affair with Baroness De La Roche and fathered her son, Andre.

This article incorporates text from an edition of the New International Encyclopedia that is in the public domain.

Leon Delagrange Pictures

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Source: WikiPedia