Santos-Dumont and the Invention of the Airplane

For more than two centuries,scientists, engineers, inventors,visionaries and flying enthusiasts were challenged by the construction of flying machines and the ability to control them in the air.The unimpressive demonstrations of the small hot air balloon carried out by the Brazilian Jesuit Bartolomeu de Gusmão, in 1709, showed that the dream of flying could become reality.In 1880, another Brazilian, Julio Cezar Ribeiro de Souza,born in the State of Pará, made some achievements in the maneuvering of balloons but it was not until October 19, 1901, when the Dirigible No. 6of Santos-Dumont flew around the Eiffel Tower in Paris, that controlled flight was proved. In 1906 the extraordinary impact of the airplane invention was felt worldwide. The airplane became the main formof transcontinental transportation drastically changing relations among nations and impacting modern life style.

Biografia, Autobiografia, Memórias / Literatura Brasileira / Não-ficção