Alberto Braniff Ricard (8 December 1886 – 17 September 1966)''Federal District, Mexico, Civil Registration Deaths, 1861-1987'' was a Mexican pioneering

airplane An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a vari ...

pilot. He is considered the second

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

, however the first born in Latin America.

Life and career

Braniff was born in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

into a wealthy and powerful family during the

Porfiriato The Porfiriato or Porfirismo (, ), coined by Mexican historian Daniel Cosío Villegas, is a term given to the period when General Porfirio Díaz ruled Mexico under an Authoritarianism, authoritarian military dictatorship in the late 19th and e ...

. His father was the American industrialist Thomas Braniff (not to be confused with

Thomas Elmer Braniff Thomas Elmer Braniff (December 6, 1883 – January 10, 1954) was an American entrepreneur. He was a co-founder of Braniff International Airways, along with his brother Paul Revere Braniff. Known as Tom Braniff, he was also a noted insurance p ...

, of

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...

, whose family founded

Braniff International Airways Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until the cessation of air operations, was an American airline that operated from 1928 until 1982 and continues to ...

) and his mother was María Beltran Lorenza Ricard. His father was born in

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

, New York, to

Irish immigrants The Irish diaspora () refers to ethnic Irish people and their descendants who live outside the island of Ireland. The phenomenon of migration from Ireland is recorded since the Early Middle Ages,Flechner, Roy; Meeder, Sven (2017). The Irish ...

; he went to Mexico to be a superintendent of construction for the Mexico City-

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

railroad, lived through the

Second Mexican Empire The Second Mexican Empire (; ), officially known as the Mexican Empire (), was a constitutional monarchy established in Mexico by Mexican monarchists with the support of the Second French Empire. This period is often referred to as the Second ...

and eventually became an established member of the Mexican elite. Alberto went to study in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, where

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

flourished as he was a young adult. While in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, Braniff acquired a French-built airplane. Soon after, he returned by ship to his home country, with his airplane aboard. Mexico during that era was a relatively new country in need of new achievements. After their country lost the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

, Mexicans sought something or someone to restore their national pride. When Braniff returned home with his airplane, many Mexicans began to see him as a symbol of hope. Braniff, who had learned to fly the airplane while still in Europe, took it up upon himself to try to satisfy that need. Years before Braniff was born, a prominent

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

had predicted that it would be impossible to fly to that city because of its high altitude and thin air. The article was published during an era when

aerostat An aerostat (, via French) or lighter-than-air aircraft is an aircraft that relies on buoyancy to maintain flight. Aerostats include unpowered balloons (free-flying or tethered) and powered airships. The relative density of an aerostat as a ...

popularity was rising in Europe, and some Mexicans had successfully flown them in the northern areas of the country. On January 8, 1910, Braniff flew his airplane Voisin monoplane, imported from France, over Mexico City. Apart from being the first pilot to fly an airplane over Mexico City, he made history by becoming both the first pilot to fly an airplane in Mexico and second in Latin America, because the first to take off in Latin America, and first aircraft designed entirely on Brazilian soil, was built by Dimitri Sensaud de Lavaud, was an engineer, inventor, and aviator of French descent, born in Spain and naturalized Brazilian living in Brazil. The airplane, baptized as ''São Paulo'', flew in ''Osasco'', in the state of ''São Paulo'' on January 7, 1910. The flight took place in front of a group of onlookers and journalists where today's ''Avenida João Batista'' is located. Later on,

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Jorge Newbery Jorge Alejandro Newbery Malagarie (27 May 1875 – 1 March 1914) was an Argentine aviator, civil servant, engineer and scientist. He died in an airplane crash on 1 March 1914, at the age of 38. Early and personal life His father, Ralph Lamart ...

and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Jorge Chávez Georges Antoine Chavez (January 13, 1887 – September 27, 1910), also known as Jorge Chávez or Géo Chavez, was a Peruvian aviator. At a young age, he achieved fame for his aeronautical feats. He died in 1910 after a heavy wind broke the w ...

followed in Braniff's footsteps as famous Latin American aviators. Alberto Braniff, by most accounts, led a quiet life after his achievement, but lived long enough to see

Mexico City International Airport Mexico City International Airport (); officially ''Aeropuerto Internacional Benito Juárez'' (Benito Juárez International Airport) is the primary international airport serving Greater Mexico City. It is the List of the busiest airports in Me ...

begin to operate, and Mexican aviation's technical developments of the jet era. Braniff died in Mexico City in 1966.

References

External links

Alberto Branif shown in Mexican stamp issued for the 100 anniversary of his first flight in Mexico,1910
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braniff, Alberto Mexican people of American descent Mexican people of Irish descent 1886 births 1966 deaths Mexican aviators