Robert Albert Charles Esnault-Pelterie (French pronunciation: [ʁɔbɛʁ albɛʁ ʃaʁl eno pɛltəʁi]; 8 November 1881 – 6 December 1957) was a French aircraft designer and spaceflight expert. He is known as one of the early pioneers of modern rocketry and astronautics, along with Russian Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Chinese Qian Xuesen, German Hermann Oberth, German Wernher von Braun, and American Robert H. Goddard.
Jacques P. Schneider (July 25, 1879 – May 1, 1928) was a French financial expert, balloon pilot, and airplane lover who created the Schneider Trophy.
Armand Deperdussin (July 8, 1864, in Liège, Belgium – June 11, 1924, in Paris) was a French business owner and early leader in aviation. After working in the silk trade, he became interested in aviation in 1910 after seeing the successes of pilot Louis Blériot. He then started the company Société de Production des Aéroplanes Deperdussin.
Alfred de Pischof (17 May 1882 – 12 August 1922) was an Austrian aviation pioneer. Between 1901 and 1907, he studied at Collége Chaptal and École Speciale des Travaux Publics in Cachan, France. He learned about road and railway engineering there.
Isidore Auguste Marie Louis Paulhan (French: [pɔlɑ̃]; July 19, 1883, to February 10, 1963) was a French aviator. He won the first Daily Mail aviation prize for completing the first flight between London and Manchester in 1910.
Édouard de Niéport, often called Édouard Nieuport (1875–1911), was one of the founders of the Nieuport Aircraft Manufacturing Company, which he started with his brother Charles in 1909 in Issy-les-Moulineaux. He was an engineer and athlete, and he was among the top airplane designers and pilots during the early days of aviation, from the late 1800s until the start of World War I in 1914. As a pilot, he set a world speed record of 74.37 miles per hour (119.69 kilometers per hour) on May 11, 1911, in Mourmelon, flying his Nieuport II monoplane, which had a 28 horsepower engine he designed.
Didier Daurat (January 2, 1891, Montreuil-sous-Bois – December 2, 1969, Toulouse) was an early leader in French aviation. During World War I, he served as a fighter pilot and was recognized for identifying the Paris Gun, a weapon that attacked Paris. After the war, he worked for an airline that later became Compagnie générale aéropostale (Aéropostale), then Air France.
Marcel-Georges Brindejonc des Moulinais was born on February 18, 1892, and died on August 18, 1916. He was a French pilot who became famous for flying long distances, including crossing the Baltic Sea. He also worked as a pilot who performed in shows and raced airplanes.
Louis Charles Joseph Blériot (born July 1, 1872; died August 1, 1936) was a French aviator, inventor, and engineer. He created the first useful headlamp for cars and started a successful business making them. He used much of the money from this business to fund his work on building airplanes.
Henri Farman was born on May 26, 1874, and died on July 17, 1958. He was a British-French aviator, aircraft designer, and manufacturer who worked with his brother, Maurice Farman. Before he focused on aviation, he became famous as a sportsman, especially in cycling and motor racing.