Eric Antoine Ghislain Joseph, Viscount de Spoelberch (15 February 1903 – 17 January 1939) was a Belgian

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

. He was born in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

and died in

Nivelles Nivelles (; ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. The Nivelles municipality includes the former municipalities of Baulers, Bornival, Thines, and Monstreux. The Nivelles arrondissement ...

Family

He was son of Guillaume de Spoelberch (1874–1947) and Colienne de Neufforge (1882–1929). He married Katharine Kelso Stewart 28 April 1932, in Haverford; Katherine's mother was

Elsie Foster Cassatt Elizabeth "Elsie" Foster Cassatt Stewart (August 14, 1875 – May 31, 1931) was an American sportswoman and socialite. Early life Cassatt was born in Pennsylvania, the daughter of Alexander Cassatt and Lois Buchanan Cassatt. Her father was pr ...

(1875–1931), a sportswoman from a prominent Pennsylvania family, niece of artist

Mary Cassatt Mary Stevenson Cassatt (; May 22, 1844June 14, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker. She was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh's North Side (Pittsburgh), North Side), but lived much of her adult life in France, whe ...

and great-niece of president

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was the 15th president of the United States, serving from 1857 to 1861. He also served as the United States Secretary of State, secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and represented Pennsylvan ...

. The couple had two sons, Guillaume and Jacques de Spoelberch. He is a brother of Werner de Spoelberch.

Career

As a lieutenant in the Aéronautique Militaire he was one of two Belgian pilots sent to Britain to evaluate the

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

and the

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced conti ...

. In the following January he was killed in an air accident while flight-testing the new Renard R.36 fighter.Belgian Chamber of Representatives • Session of 19 May 1939 "... a été causée par le malheureux accident dont a, été victime, le 17 février, le regretté pilote Eric de Spoelberch; il n'était pas démontré que cet accident ait été dû à un défaut de construction de l'appareil. J'aurais voulu pouvoir lire à la Chambre des extraits d'un rapport d'experts, dont le ... experts désignés par le juge d'instruction de Nivelles, — et qui-concluaient d'instruction de Nivelles, — et qui-concluaient... " As a

bobsled Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of 2 to 4 athletes make timed speed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobs ...

der he competed in the

1936 Winter Olympics The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936, were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 16 February 1936 in the market town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Nazi Ger ...

Garmisch-Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; ) is an Northern Limestone Alps, Alpine mountain resort, ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen (district), district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ...

; he finished eighth both in the two-man and four-man events.

honours

* Knight in the Order of Leopold. * Knight in the

Order of Leopold II The Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Leopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as Sovereign of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgiu ...

References

1936 bobsleigh two-man results
1903 births 1939 deaths Belgian Air Component officers Belgian test pilots Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Belgium Belgian male bobsledders Er Bobsledders at the 1936 Winter Olympics Olympic bobsledders for Belgium Bobsledders from Brussels Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1939 Victims of flight test accidents 20th-century Belgian sportsmen {{Belgium-bobsleigh-bio-stub