Henri Fabre (29 November 1882 – 30 June 1984) was a French aviator and the inventor of the first successful

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteri ...

, the

Fabre Hydravion Fabre Hydravion is the name used in English-language sources for an originally unnamed experimental floatplane designed by Henri Fabre. The aircraft is notable as the first to take off from water under its own power. Development Hydravion (F ...

. Henri Fabre was born into a prominent family of shipowners in the city of

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

. He was educated in the Jesuit College of Marseilles where he undertook advanced studies in sciences. He intensively studied aeroplane and propeller designs. He patented a system of flotation devices which he used when he succeeded in taking off from the surface of the Etang de Berre on 28 March 1910. On that day, he completed four consecutive flights, the longest about 600 metres. the ''Hydravion'' has survived and is displayed in the Musée de l'Air in Paris. Henri Fabre was soon contacted by

Glenn Curtiss Glenn Hammond Curtiss (May 21, 1878 – July 23, 1930) was an American aviation and motorcycling pioneer, and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle racer and builder before moving on to motorcycles. As early a ...

and

Gabriel Voisin Gabriel Voisin (5 February 1880 – 25 December 1973) was a French aviation pioneer and the creator of Europe's first manned, engine-powered, heavier-than-air aircraft capable of a sustained (1 km), circular, controlled flight, which was made ...

who used his invention to develop their own seaplanes. As late as 1971, Fabre said he was still sailing his own boat single-handedly in

harbour.Munson, J. C. and Kenneth Taylor ''Jane's History of Aviation'' He died at the age of 101 as one of the last living pioneers of human flight.

References

External links

The Fabre family
Aviation pioneers French aviators Members of the Early Birds of Aviation French centenarians Men centenarians 1882 births 1984 deaths {{france-engineer-stub